#so maybe it's better said as destined to end up with a woman if they end up with someone

[circlique]

I'm sorry I just love the idea that the Avatar, regardless of gender, is destined to end up with a woman.

[silhouetteonpaper]

The Cycle of Grief

Summary: When your brother passed away, the only person you could blame was yourself. Now that the grief has consumed you, there’s only one thing left to do. But what happens when a certain someone threatens to spoil your plans? Natasha Romanoff x Reader WC: 1,462 Warnings: Running away, grief, mentions of sibling death, veryyy angsty

Under the dark cover of night, you slip through the tall glass doors of the compound with quiet footsteps. Your heart is full of grief; there’s not a thought in your mind making you want to stay any longer. You don’t want to be a burden, and it’s always easier to isolate yourself than to ask for help. How is anyone supposed to help you anyways?

The deep blue night sky is freckled with stars, and you can’t help but take a moment to admire them. It reminds you of the time when you and your brother would sit out in an empty field and point out constellations. You never thought much of it at the time, but now everything inside you yearns for just one more moment with him—one more chance to sit and stargaze with the person you loved most.

But he’s gone now, killed in battle after you begged him to fight alongside you and the rest of the team. It’s all your fault. So, the only thing left to do now is to run; far away from the compound, far away from the life you once shared with your other half. Because now it’s too empty without him.

The backpack slung over your shoulder contains anything you might need for the journey ahead; from snacks, to clothes, to a pistol you stole from the training room—just in case. You don’t know where you’re headed, but you don’t care as long as it’s far away from the shattered pieces that now linger here at the compound.

All those days spent training alongside your brother, all those times he kept you motivated to be the Avenger you so desperately wanted to be. And for what? To kill him in return? There’s blood on your hands, and you can’t just wash it off.

The soft sound of your sneakers on the concrete fill the silence of dusk. The distant view of the city skyline makes you swallow thickly; you don’t hate many things—but you won’t hesitate to feel hatred toward this city. Towards the Avengers. Towards yourself.

The dark silhouettes of oak trees tower over you as you near the edge of the driveway. Several jets sit unattended on the small tarmac, but you know better than to take one. Not only would the loud engine wake everyone up, but each one has a tracking device. Your exact path pinned up for everyone to see doesn’t really support the whole ‘disappear’ part of your plan.

As you begin to trek down the long road ahead, it’s hard to stop your mind from wandering. A cacophony of what if’s steal your attention. Maybe, if you weren’t such a try-hard, he wouldn’t have died. How did you ever believe you could be a superhero? Superheroes don’t kill their own. If you had just agreed to let him stay home, he’d still be alive. It’s all your fault.

You’re so lost in your despair that a sudden noise makes you flinch. “You have ten seconds to explain what you’re doing here.” A voice appears behind you, the dissonant thoughts now scrambling away. You turn abruptly, a scowling face with red hair greeting you. It’s Natasha.

“Going for a walk, leave me alone.” You brush her off, turning back on your charted path. The last thing you need right now is for another Avenger to give you some speech about how great you are, how you’re destined to be a hero. Last time they said that, you ended up killing your brother. Those words are just empty lies now.

A part of you expected Natasha to relent, but you know better than to doubt the most headstrong woman you’ve ever met. She doesn’t speak, but instead walks alongside you in silence. You eye her with furrowed brows, and she seems unbothered while gazing at the tall trees and starry sky.

“What are you doing?” You question, slightly picking up the pace. She matches your speed easily.

“You said you’re going for a walk,” Natasha shrugs. “Am I not allowed to join?” Now you understand, the Widow knows something’s up. It was naive of you to believe you could fool her. Everyone knew how close you were with your brother, it’s only natural that when he died you’d be beside yourself. But what you hoped no one saw was the undying urge to run. Maybe if you ran far enough, you could forget any of this ever happened.

“I just want to be alone, please Nat.” You breathe, using everything in your power to stay calm. You can’t show your anger, that would only make her even more suspicious of your plans for tonight.

She’s silent for a moment. “Why, so you can sit in self pity?” Her words hit you like a punch to the gut. Natasha’s always been blunt, valuing tough love instead of coddling. But right now it stings even more than usual.

“So I can think. Just get some air and clear my head.” You partially lie. That’s practically why you’re running away, to fully clear your head of this nightmare. You just left out the ‘never coming back’ part.

“No, you’re running from your problems.” Natasha states without even looking your way. Your heart skips a beat, does she know? You don’t want to give yourself away, so you opt to dance around the subject.

“I’ll deal with my problems how I want. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of night air and some alone time.”

She chuckles, which makes the anger rise inside you. How is any of this funny to her? “There’s a difference between dealing with your problems and locking them away forever. There’s a difference between alone time and full isolation. You can’t live like this.” She stops walking, turning to face you.

You slow down, avoiding eye contact. You try to speak, but she’s not done yet. “I know you lost someone extremely important, but you can’t let yourself suffer just because he had to.”

“If you’re going to tell me that this isn’t what he’d want, I don’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to fight that day and I made him!” You cry out, the tears brimming in your eyes. For a split second, you can almost see a matching glint of mist in Natasha’s eyes under the moonlight.

“You blame yourself.” She says softly. You can hear the pang of heartache in her voice.

“I do,” You admit with tears now rolling down your cheeks. “I know you do too, for everything in your past. But you can’t use that as a reason now, not for this.”

“I’m not saying it’s the same, I’m saying that you don’t have to confine yourself to a life of misery. Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean you have to be too.” All the air in your lungs suddenly disappears. The anger, the grief, the overwhelming-never ending terror—it all washes over you at once.

Sobs escape your lips as your knees buckle beneath you. Natasha’s right there, grabbing your arms as you both lower to the ground. He’s dead, but that doesn’t mean you are too.

As your world continues to crash down, you see the reality of what you were planning to do. Running away to some far off city, to do what? To sulk, to isolate yourself, to sit in sorrow for the rest of your life? That’s as close to dead as someone can get while still being alive.

You don’t know how much time has passed when the initial tsunami of emotions finally subsides, but you find yourself buried into Natasha’s chest, her arms wrapped around you tightly as her hand caresses the back of your head.

Sniffing away the remaining tears, you think about moving—standing up and walking farther and farther away from any sign of support or love. But you don’t. It feels too good. After weeks without it, you long for it. You didn’t even know that what you truly needed was right in front of you this whole time.

So, you sit in silence. You let Natasha hold you. And you let yourself stay stationary, feeling the emotions you’ve suppressed for days on end. Because you don’t need to run when all you need is right here with you.

After a while, Natasha shifts. “Why don’t we get into bed?” She proposes, still refusing to be the one to pull back first. The idea of laying down and turning your mind off sounds wonderful, so you nod. 

As you stand up with Nat’s help, she looks at you with a saddened smile. “I’m glad you’re choosing to stay. I don’t know what I’d do if you ever left.”

She’s known this whole time, and you’re not even surprised.

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Beach Episode (Part 19)

Previous | Masterpost | Next

Danny and Jason talked out their issues and dealt with it. Jason didn’t think he’d fuck up again, he’d felt so fucking bad, but Danny didn’t trust that. Which was fair, even if it hurt, he was going to have to prove that he meant it and could hold to it even when he was angry. He needed to get into therapy too, he’d been putting it off because he was scared, and protective of his identity, so much of the shit he’d seen and done was so hard to explain in a civilian situation.

But now that he was on slightly better terms with the JL he could prevail himself of one of their therapists. That ended up being the favour that Danny demanded from them was providing Jason with a therapist, one that wouldn’t be too judgmental of his… ‘methods’. They asked for Wonder Woman’s advice on that, which she was very happy to provide, relieved that Jason was facing up to his bad behaviour and taking steps to make it right. She’d been worried she was going to have to physically knock some sense into him.

The other favour that Danny asked for, not of the JL but from Jason, was not to complain about the family vacation that was being planned between Dick, Tim, Danny, and Alfred. Jason still didn’t love the idea but Danny gave him puppy dog eyes and insisted that it was needed to make him forgive Jason for his slip up. Necessary to make things right with his family and moving on, so he accepted it.

It took a lot of arranging and planning to get the family on vacation. They had to find a time everyone was available, find people they trusted to cover their patrols or cities, and of course agree on a destination. That was harder than you would expect, especially when Bruce got involved and tried to insist it should be in the deep woods somewhere and be a training exercise more than anything.

In the end he was shouted down and it was decided that they were going to go to a beach somewhere warm and sunny. Far enough away from any of their usual haunts that they wouldn’t feel the urge to work as long as there weren’t any natural disasters and Tim was kept off his ipad. Since it was a family vacation Danny invited Ellie and Dan too, though he wasn’t sure that Dan would come. Half of him hoped he wouldn’t because having Dan there was bound to be complicated, but they had decided to be family so Danny was going to put his money where his mouth was. 

Dan had been doing well anyway, he hadn’t missed any check ins and hadn’t caused any chaos in space. So he at least deserved an invite, whether he wanted to come or not. They had a check in two weeks before the trip so Danny brought it up with him then.

“A family vacation huh?” Dan asked, they were ‘sitting’ on a broken satellite which was still orbiting earth through inertia.

“Ya, God knows the Wayne's need it. And honestly so do I. Ellie will be coming too, and you're welcome too if you want to,” Danny said with a little shrug.

“And draw more attention from the GIW onto both of you?” Dan asked skeptically.

“Ya, but they already know Phantom is back and working with the Justice League now. I really don't think they're brave enough to touch us now. And if they try to, with all three of us together with the bats? Frankly I'd like to see them try. Maybe it would give the Justice League the push they need to really give them the smack down.” 

Dan snorted a little at Danny, he still didn't expect that ferocity from his younger self. “Ya I guess so,” he agreed with a crooked little smile.

“But if that was an excuse and you just don't want to come, that's fine. I don't want to push you, I just don't want you to feel left out since we decided we're family now,” Danny explained.

“Nah, I want to come. I want to meet my future brother in law,” Dan said with an absolutely feral smile.

“Oh dear,” Danny said faintly. “That doesn't sound good. Is it too late to uninvite you?” 

“Oh absolutely,” Dan cackled wickedly. “If you're going to be my little brother I should get to vet your boyfriend,” he teased, reaching over to ruffle Danny's hair and laughing when Danny smacked his hand away.

“Fine, you'll be a better judge than some people since I'm assuming we have the same opinions about violence?” He asked, glancing at Dan.

“I think I'm probably even more down for it then you are, but ya. Why?”

“Batman tried to stage an intervention about Jason hitting me. Trying to explain to them that I was totally fine with it and kinda liked it suuucked,” Danny groaned, flopping back dramatically as Dan laughed at him.

“Poor you,” Dan said, entirely unsympathetic. Danny flipped him off. “I'll probably give him shit about it.”

“Just don't scare him off. I really like this guy. If you pull anything I swear I'll spend the rest of our eternity making sure you never get a date!” 

“Sheesh, that's a serious threat kid! As long as he's not a wimp I won't scare him off. If I do scare him off he wasn’t a good fit for you in the first place,” Dan pointed out reasonably.

“Fine, I'll be keeping an eye on you though,” Danny warned.

“Of course you will, I'd expect nothing less after everything I've done,” Dan agreed dryly. “I'm surprised you're letting me be around your new found family at all.”

“Ya, well, you're one of my new found family as well.”

“Shit.”

“If you didn't want to be part of my found family you should have killed me when you had the chance!” 

“IS THAT A FUCKING MEME?!”

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

All the Wayne’s could have asked their respective flying friends to give them a lift to the resort, but it had been decided no kryptonians were invited. They were trying to keep things to their family, though Dick was bringing Kori, that was fine they had been together off and on for years and were well settled together this time. She might as well be an in-law already. So she would be flying Dick in from Bludhaven, and everyone else was going to fly out from Gotham in the Waynes’ private jet. Well, the Waynes and Babs and Steph, who had taken a little more convincing to come, getting past their insistence they weren’t actually family being the trick. Thankfully the fact that the phantom siblings were coming too helped them see it wasn’t only a trip for the Waynes, and with different heroes and allies found to cover protecting Gotham they were bundled onto the private jet as well. 

 Which Danny and Ellie teased Bruce and Tim relentlessly about owning, Jason snickering in the background and egging on the two ghostly siblings in their teasing. They deserved it, no matter how much Bruce tried to defend that it was expected of him to have a private jet and he needed it for business! 

Teasing didn’t stop them from enjoying it though, Ellie chasing Tim around the isles, with Alfred chiding but not actually trying to stop them from having their fun and being kids for once.  Danny spent half the time exploring and stealing any snacks he found, and half the time murmuring in Jason’s ear about how they should steal the jet to join the mile high club. It was sweet torture and Jason did not want it to stop even as he shifted awkwardly and tried desperately to think unsexy thoughts so he wouldn’t get a boner surrounded by his family! Thank fuck Dick wasn’t here, the knowing smirks he’d be shooting the two of them would be too much.

It was a 16 hour flight, and once Ellie and Tim tired themselves out and fell asleep Bruce pulled out a sleep mask and settled in. Danny gave them this, it was much more comfortable to sleep in, and Jason and Danny slept soundly, at least until Ellie got bored and pounced on Danny. They phased out through the wall of the plane to go for a fly, racing the jet and flying loops around it until Ellie got tired and Danny had to help her back into the jet when she started to fall behind. 

Everyone else had started to wake up while they were gone, so by the time they got back it was just in time to have a family breakfast, and talk about what they were going to do once they landed. They had booked the entire top floor of the resort for privacy, which Danny thought was kind of overkill, but these were The Bats, they were incredibly security minded people, so he didn’t argue about it. Danny was mostly excited about swimming, this was a beach vacation after all!

Finally they landed, and grabbed as much of their stuff as they could from the plane before the bellhops could get them, as if all the staff hadn’t already been vetted by Babs. They were only staying for a week so they didn’t have so much they couldn’t reasonably carry it, and Danny suspected at least Tim had some stuff in his bags he would not want anyone else to see. He was going to keep an eye on the younger man to make sure that he hadn’t smuggled any work with him on vacation. 

They piled out of the plane, chattering excitedly about the vacation, Dick coming onto the plane to help Babs on the slightly too steep ramp from the plane. Kori was waiting for them on the tarmac with a warm smile, taking a couple of the heavier bag.

“We already picked out her room on the left side. I suspect Jason and Danny will want to be on the right, and the… single, and younger members of the family should be in the middle so we all have some place,” Kori suggested. 

“Kori!” Dick chided, though he clearly wasn’t actually shocked. Actually those who’d known the two of them for a while knew that was far more delicately put then she might have said it a couple years ago.

“What?” She said, blinking her bright green eyes innocently at Dick. “This is a romantic destination, and we love each other, we are only doing what is surely expected of a loving romantic union. I doubt your father wants to hear-”

“YES thank you Kori you’re right. We’ll make sure you and Dick, and Jason and Danny have your privacy,” Bruce promised.

Before the conversation could continue Ellie shrieked and dropped her bags, taking off running away from the group. It startled everyone, but hackles smoothed immediately when they spotted Dan, strolling across the lot to meet her at a more casual pace. He rolled his eyes but there was a smile on his face as he bent down to scoop Ellie up before she could headbutt him in the gut at full sprint. He was wearing regular clothes, a black shirt and pants with white stripes down the side, and his fiery hair had been gathered into a low ponytail. He still looked obviously inhuman with his grey-green skin and red eyes, but there were all sorts of meta-humans around and he didn’t look like a supervillain at least. 

Ellie scrambled from in his arms to onto his shoulders as he grumbled at her without any real heat behind it. He shrugged his shoulders, making her squeak and hold on tight as he strolled over to the rest of the group.

“I’m glad you could make it,” Danny said, approaching Dan and patting his arm.

“Hey I told you I would,” Dan said ruffling Danny’s hair and ignoring the way the humans around them shifted nervously. Danny was either ignoring it as well or hadn’t noticed the nerves.

“I don’t believe we’ve met!” Kori said cheerfully, holding out her hand to shake. 

“Hey, I’m Dan. I’m these two’s big brother, by technicality,” Dan joked, gesturing to Danny and Ellie with his free hand, shaking her hand and squeezing too hard. He looked impressed when her smile only brightened and she squeezed back just as hard. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Kori, I’m Dick’s partner,” She said brightly. “You seem strong, we should spar some time soon.”

“I’d like that,” Dan agreed with a shark's grin. Grunting and dropping the smile when Danny elbowed him in the side. 

“Behave,” Danny grumbled at him, getting a growl and an eye roll in return, before his gaze landed on Jason. 

“And you must be Danny’s boyfriend huh?” He asked, letting go of Kori’s hand and offering it to Jason.

“Ya, I am. It’s nice to meet you. He warned me about you,” Jason said, standing up straight and shaking Dan’s hand firmly, trying not to wince when he squeezed it far too tightly. 

“I’m sure he did. I warned me about messing with you too,” Dan cackled, letting go of Jason’s hand before it could crack and shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“Right, well now that everyone’s met each other let’s head inside hm?” Bruce interrupted trying to shoo them all towards the door. They were starting to attract attention standing out in the open like this. “We should pick out our rooms and get comfortable.”

“Ellie, how do you feel about sharing a room with Dan?” Danny asked, glancing up at his young clone, still perched on Dan’s broad shoulders. 

“I don’t need a babysitter!” Both Dan, and Ellie said at the same time before looking at each other, startled as Danny laughed.

“You’d both be absolutely terrible babysitters,” He said fondly. He expected them to get into a good deal of chaos together, but he did think that Ellie would keep Dan from killing anyone, or get Danny if things got completely out of control. 

“Fine, we’ll share,” Dan sighed, and Ellie nodded. 

“Thanks guys,” Danny said, smiling at his siblings before grabbing Jason’s hand and tugging him towards the door. “Come on, let’s go find the most extravagant room we can!”

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

There was a bit of a scramble for rooms, not that there weren’t plenty of rooms, but Step, Dick, and Tim were petty and silly and argued over the ‘best’ rooms. And of course once they started Ellie had to get in on the action. Danny and Jason left the younger ones (and Dick) to their squabbling and went to pick out their own room as far away from the rest as they could manage. They found a lovely one with an airy, beachy theme and a window seat looking out onto the ocean.

“It’s beautiful here,” Danny said, sitting down on the padded bench in front of the window and making grabby hands at Jason.

“Is it,” Jason chuckled, going to sit with Danny, who practically dived into Jason’s arms. “I wouldn’t want to live in a place like this, but it is very nice to visit.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, you're a Gothemite and a bat! If it’s not a little close, dark, or gloomy you stand out like a sore thumb,” Danny teased, nuzzling against the underside of Jason’s jaw, who laughed along. “I like our home and our nest though, it’s cozy,” Danny added before Jason could get insecure about it.

“Me too, do you want to unpack first or go exploring?” Jason asked softly.

“As much as I want to go exploring, I think we had better unpack before anyone tries to kick us out of our room by throwing out our bags,” Danny said with a put upon sigh, going nearly boneless against Jason’s chest. 

“You know you’re going to have to get up for us to unpack, right?”

“Noooo!”

-----------

The resort really was beautiful, and since they’d rented an entire floor it wasn’t as crowded as they were sure it usually was. Danny had never been to a place like this and he intended to make the most of it, all of it! The beach, the spa, and the incredibly fucking fancy restaurant and bar where he and Jason could actually drink since the Maldieves actually had a reasonable drinking age! 

Over the course of the week they got couples messages, got so drunk they had to lean on each other to get back to their room, and ordered far too much room service. But undoubtedly the beach was absolutely the main attraction. They spent a lot of time there, to the point Danny got a tan, and Jason was very glad he didn’t burn like Bruce did, who spent most of the second day laying on his stomach in bed with Alfred scolding him about not refreshing his sunscreen after swimming. On the second day Danny remembered he didn’t strictly have to breathe! And Jason spent the rest of the day sitting on the beach while Danny (and Ellie or Dan in turns) disappeared into the water for hours and came back to tell him about everything they saw.

On the third day Jason rented some scuba equipment so he could go down with his boyfriend and see all the wonders he’d been so excited about. At least the ones in shallower waters, he couldn’t follow Danny deeper where the pressure got too much, when Danny realized that he stuck to the shallower areas. By the time they got back to shore Jason was exhausted and very ready for supper, which was a family affair every night of the trip. It was really nice, since Alfred didn’t have to cook he could actually join them and he kept it from being too rowdy. 

They had to push tables together to accommodate the whole family, but the Waynes had more than enough money to get away with it and establish an extra long table for themselves for the entire week of their stay. They tended to eat late, which worked too because there were fewer people for them to disturb with their chatter and chaos, and the eleven of them were usually more than enough for the kitchen to contend with since most of them were big eaters. The dinners were really nice, it didn’t have the baggage of being at the manor, and though they’d met up in smaller groups all of them (minus Kate who had opted out) had never been in the same place. 

It was the perfect opportunity for… something, something that Dick unfortunately beat Jason too on the third night, during dessert when he got up from the table, and got down on one knee in front of Kori. Silence fell over the entire restaurant as Jason bit back a groan and quickly readjusted his expectations to be happy for his brother. 

“Koriand'r, you and I have been together for a long time, and we’ve been through a lot of shit. But never have I not been happy you were there with me for it. You’ve made all of it easier by letting me be by your side, and I hope you’ll let me stick by you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?” 

“Yes!” Kori yelped, holding out her hand and letting him put the ring on her finger before she grabbed his wrist and his collar and hauled him in for a passionate kiss as the family cheered and everyone around clapped politely. “You’ll have to come with me to pick out a ring for you as well My Love,” Kori told him warmly while Dick grinned like an idiot. 

“Congratulations!” Steph cheered, practically leaping over the table to tackle both of them as Bruce ordered a few bottles of the best champagne the resort could offer and everyone else lined up to congratulate them as well. Besides Dan, who was being ignored as he grumbled in the corner about how ostentatious and cliche the whole thing was. 

Hey, maybe if Danny secretly shared some of those thoughts Jason had dodged a bullet not being able to propose on this trip. He’d come up with a new plan, one Danny might even like better.

[wileys-russo]

under the mistletoe II s.blackstenius x reader

merry christmas eve besties under the mistletoe II s.blackstenius x reader

"oh they decorated!" you noticed right away as you wandered into colney for training, amanda by your side having driven you as the two of you often took turns since you lived in the same complex.

"ha! that is going to be fun." amanda nudged you and pointed to the random tufts of fake mistletoe hung up around as you both made your way to the changing rooms, music already pumping away in the distance.

"oh if you wanted a kiss why didn't you say!" you teased, kissing her cheek as she pushed you away with a roll of her eyes, having adopted an older sister role of sorts since you'd both moved to arsenal this season.

of course you were already welcomed in by your fellow national team mates, grateful to know some of the team on your first day as lina and stina both wasted no time showing the two of you around and making sure you settled in.

stina in particular you'd always been quite fond of, the two of you often spending time together on national duty you were hopeful that it might continue to build into something a little more than friends now you both played for arsenal.

you'd liked her for a couple of years now, more of a silly little crush than anything else that you always assumed was one way. well you did, until the world cup.

you were all out as a team celebrating your bronze medals when stina had pulled you away from the group claiming she didn't want to go to the toilet by herself, only within seconds of the two of you having a moment alone her lips were on yours.

the kiss was messy to say the least with both your bloodstreams pumped full of alcohol, though you never got a chance to see where it might have lead as a very drunk frido stumbled around the corner and crashed into the two of you, stina practically running away the moment she did leaving you to look after frido and with a head a mess of thoughts.

you'd waited to see if she'd bring up the kiss, she never did.

afraid she was just too drunk to remember or worse she'd purposefully chosen to forget, you kept it to yourself and remained grateful it didn't change how the blonde acted around you.

especially now at the same club you found yourself spending even more time with her, though rarely one on one it was generally in a group setting she still gravitated to your side, pairing up for drills and sitting beside you most chances she could.

if you didn't know any better you'd swear sometimes she flirted with you, showering you with praise and compliments followed by an awkward little smile or hug before she'd race away and leave you wondering if maybe she did remember the kiss.

then reality would sink in and you'd remind yourself that this was just how stina was, how she'd always be and that just friends seemed to be your destined fate together.

hearing your phone start to ring you nodded for amanda to enter the changing room as you speed walked a little more out of earshot of the music pumping from inside as you clicked accept and moved it to your ear.

"Vännen!" you smiled hearing the familiar accent ring through the phone. "hello frido." you chuckled, dumping your bag by your feet and leaning your back against the wall behind you.

"hello frido. god you sound so english!" the woman gagged making you laugh and curse at her in swedish. "sorry should i have said it in spanish? hola puta!" you teased as she clicked her tongue at you and you could only imagine the way her eyes would be rolling on the other end of the line.

"i'll be having alexia speak with laia if she's going to continue to teach you only bad words in spanish!" the blonde warned jokingly though you really wouldn't put it past her to do so. "how is the knee Gumman?" you smirked as she swore at you with a huff for the nickname meaning old woman.

"still attached to my leg, we are getting there. very slowly!" frido sighed as you frowned sympathetically, having been looked after by the older girl ever since you'd joined the national team years ago you cared for her very deeply so to know she was unable to play at the moment was painful.

"how is your crush on stina?" your sympathy melted away at her teasing tone. "she is so confusing, it kills me!" you groaned, looking around to make sure you were alone as frido prompted you to elaborate.

"when it is just us she is so sweet. always getting things for me like my food or my bag or my boots, pulling me to sit with her on the bus, always complimenting me and hugging me and i think she might like me back. but she is that way with everyone!" you sighed, rubbing your spare hand against your face and noticing a few of the girls start to file out of the change rooms for training.

"but she has not kissed everyone Vännen. tell her how you feel!" frido reminded softly as you sighed. "she does not remember that, or if she does then she has chosen to forget, and i do not wish to make a fool of myself by bringing it up or ruining things. i have to go we have training, i will call you tonight?" you offered, wanting a better chance to catch up with the girl who agreed before you ended the call.

now one of the last to get ready you hurried down the hall and into the change rooms, dropping down by your cubby and hurrying to change into your boots, stripping off your hoodie and tossing it behind you.

"did someone sleep in this morning?" you glanced up to meet bright blue eyes and an amused smile. "no i was speaking with frido." you returned her smile, lacing up your boots and rummaging around for your drink bottle with a frown.

though before you could worry any further it appeared in front of you in stina's tight hold, you taking it from her and standing with a grateful smile. "tack själv!" you sighed and craned your head up to kiss her cheek, walking out of the change rooms and missing the way the blondes whole face lit up bright red and she hurried after you.

"the decorations are nice." you smiled as she caught up with you, the clacking of your boots loud against the polished floors as stina hummed in agreement.

the morning passed by with nothing out of the ordinary, everyone pausing just before lunch to watch laura do her first run on the grass, both you and stina quite close with the austrian defender cheered loudly and proudly.

breaking for lunch everyone returned to the change rooms to swap shoes, the afternoons media session studying the weekends opponents not requiring cleats.

"mistletoe Snygging!" you barely had time to look up before katie had almost tackled you to the bench, faux bunch in her hand and held over your head as she pressed a wet kiss to your cheek and you pushed her off wiping your cheek.

"who taught you Snygging?" you laughed as she grinned and nodded to lina before racing off to find another victim. "i never understand that." you looked to your right to meet stinas frown. "what?" you questioned, slipping your hoodie back on over your training top.

"mistletoe, the kissing. seems silly!" stina shrugged as you only hummed. "i think its sweet, maybe a little silly but still fun." you smiled softly, looking up as vic and kyra raced past, vic having 'accidentally' dumped her water on the australians head.

"ah! stop that, go change you are all wet and its freezing." you warned the younger girls who ignored you with a shrug, kyra aiming her bottle at vic who ducked at the last minute causing kyra to spray her bottle all over you.

"sorry!" the australian apologized with a wince as steph grabbed her and you sighed waving her away. "here." you felt a tap to your thigh and looked up to see stina offering you her own hoodie which you gratefully accepted after peeling off your own soaked one.

you tried not to dwell on how it felt to be wrapped up in the large bundle of material, drowned in the scent of her shampoo and the woody tones of her perfume which tickled at your nose and allowed your body to settle.

"won't you be cold?" you questioned as she changed out of her long sleeve into her short. "some of us have real scandinavian blood in us, don't feel the cold." she teased as you pinched her and she laughed, offering you a hand up.

you expected her to let go of you once she pulled you to your feet but to your surprise her arm settled over your shoulders pulling you into her side as she walked the two of you toward the cafeteria.

"are you going home for christmas?" the blonde asked curiously as you gave her a strange look. "we booked the same flight back!" you laughed, all four of you travelling home together at the end of the season having booked the tickets only a couple of weeks ago.

"no! i mean to your families house." stina corrected, cheeks tinted slightly pink as she handed you a tray. "oh! no, my sister is hosting everyone this year." the two of you conversed about your plans, laura joining you as you both pulled her into tight hugs of congratulation and stinas arm left your shoulder.

filing into the media room after lunch it wasn't anything new when stina tugged on the back of your her hoodie to signal you sit beside her, your head falling to her shoulder as you chatted to alessia in front of you.

the room quietened as jonas and the coaching staff arrived, everyone settling down and paying attention throughout the entire presentation.

when the lights flicked back on a couple of hours later the room winced and chatter resumed as the coaching staff left and everyone started to stretch out tired limbs and do the same.

wandering back toward the change rooms to grab bags and head off for the day the mood was upbeat, everyone tired but excited to be done for the day, a group invitation of going out for dinner thrown about as some accepted but most declined with the weather outside worsening.

"ah ah ah!" you jolted to a stop as a hand planted on your chest stopping you in your tracks as stina ran into the back of you and apologised, katie blocking the two of you from entering.

"mistletoe!" katie smirked nodding upwards as you rolled your eyes. "didn't see you harassing anyone else for a kiss mccabe!" you chuckled, trying to go around her as she blocked the doorway again.

"not me. the two of you, go on! its bad luck not to have a little smooch." katie grinned wolfishly wiggling her eyebrows, waving off a few of the girls who yelled out from inside for her to leave you both alone.

"katie come on, move." you groaned trying to shoulder her out of the way without succeeding in moving her an inch. "stina! don't want bad luck do ya?" the irishwoman grinned over your head to the taller girl behind you who up until now hadn't said a word.

"i do not care and i do not want to kiss her katie, move." her words were blunt and hurt you much more than you cared to admit, katie not missing the way your face changed to convey so and quickly moving out of your way as you hurried inside.

"hey Älskling-" you heard amanda sit beside you and place a hand on your shoulder with a concerned look as you shook your head and pushed away her hand. "can we go please?" you murmured quietly grabbing your bag, cheeks hot with humiliation as the older girl nodded.

pulling off stina's hoodie you shoved it into her hands without a word or a look in her direction and pushed past her, ignoring her calls after you as you followed amanda out to the car, hearing kim and leah rip into katie for embarrassing the two of you and trying not to pretend you cared.

"vänta en minut!" footsteps pounded after you as amanda turned and spotted stina hurrying after the two of you, squeezing your arm and saying she'd wait for you in the car, leaving before you could even say another word.

with a sigh you stopped, allowing stina to catch up to you and find her breath for a moment, nodding for you to follow her into one of the meeting rooms for a little privacy.

"i'm so sorry, it came out wrong." she rushed out quickly, hands playing with the strap of her gym bag as you shrugged. "its fine stina, no need to be sorry." you forced a smile and turned to leave as she moved to grab your wrist.

"please, hear me out." she pleaded as you gave her an odd look but nodded, gesturing for her to continue as she took a deep breath. "okay. i just-" she paused, clearly struggling with how to continue.

"at the world cup, there was one night after the win when we went out partying. we were very drunk and you looked so happy and beautiful and...free." your cheeks blushed a little at her words not expecting them.

"i saw you dancing with the others and not with me so i took your hand and told you to come to the toilet with me-" your chest tightened at her words, not daring to believe you were really hearing this.

"-but really i just wanted to kiss you, with the alcohol in me i felt like i had all the courage i never had before." your breath stopped entirely at that.

"and so we..." she trailed off rubbing the back of her neck. "-we kissed." you finished for her as she gave you an incredulous look of surprise. "you remember?" you nodded at that and her face seemed to fall.

"this was a mistake." she shook her head and turned to leave as now you took hold of her wrist and pulled her back. "no, please finish." you asked, voice barely above a whisper as she hesitated but eventually nodded.

"-we kissed. then frido interrupted and you looked embarrassed so i left, then we never spoke about it so i assumed you were just too drunk and thats why you kissed me back." she admitted quietly and you couldn't help but let out a peal of laughter.

"what is funny?" "this. you, me, all of it." "i knew this was a mistake."

"no no! i remember the kiss yes, but when you left and never mentioned it i thought you were too drunk to remember or that you'd maybe chosen to forget." you bit your lip as stinas eyes widened.

"i like you but i didn't think you liked me back." stina blurted out, tips of her ears burning bright red as your eyes bugged. "i like you too, i didn't think you liked me back!"

"so we-" "-we both remember." "but we-" "-we both didn't bring it up." "and we-" "-we both like each other."

at that a silence built between you, both searching one anothers faces for any signs of insincerity in your confessions. suddenly stina let out a groan, cheeks red with embarrassment as she buried her face in her hands.

"we are very stupid." "so stupid."

at that you both shared a smile which built into a laugh, the taller girl pulling you into a hug as you melted into her, the air around you starting to crackle with an odd feeling as your laughter died down and you craned your head back to look up at her.

"hey stina." you spoke as she raised an eyebrow. "mistletoe." you pointed above her head with a small smile as her eyes flicked upward and she let out a laugh. "katie said it is bad luck, right?"

at that she ducked her head to press her lips to yours, your mouths slotting against one anothers perfectly as you relaxed into her, balling her top in your fists as your head spun like a top.

this kiss was very different to the last. her lips were soft and welcoming, and she kissed you so tenderly as if you might break if she wasn't careful, one hand cupping your cheek to deepen it slightly, testing the waters as her tongue swiped against your bottom lip and you parted them slightly to allow her tongue to slip into your mouth.

pulling away after a few beats of silence passed the two of you blushed and refused to look at one another, though still pressed together there was very little other options.

"oh you are joking!" you leapt away from one another and looked to the door where amanda was throwing her head back with a groan, the two of you sending her strange looks as she clicked her tongue.

"you both could not have waited till next season? i owe frido money now!"

[holylulusworld]

Two can play a game

Summary: Your arranged marriage is far from perfect. When Ransom takes one step too far, you pay him back the best way possible.

Pairing: Mafia!Ransom Drysdale x fem!Reader, ???!Andy Barber x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, arranged marriage, Ransom being an asshole, cheating, implied cheating, mentions of sidepieces, making out, implied smut, mafia au

There he is, licking whipped cream off some bimbos’ tits. The woman moans and fakes she’s having fun. Just like some many greedy bitches wanting to get their hands on his wealth before.

Ransom Drysdale. Your husband. The self-declared gift to all women.

At the beginning of your arranged marriage, you easily overlooked his flaws and quirks. He was a good-looking and charming man, easily working his way into your heart and between your legs.

Ransom was passionate and sweet. Even if he was a little too cocky and arrogant for your taste. He was a prick to most people, including your friends. The only person he treated with respect was you.

Back then you believed this arranged marriage can work out.

Sometimes you even felt loved by your husband. And you reflected his feelings.

But all good things come to an end.

Your little bubble burst when you walked in on him railing one of the new maids. He didn’t even try to hide his infidelity. Proud of himself for leading you on, and making you believe you are more than a pawn to him.

Ransom declared your marriage is not a real marriage. Arranged marriages don’t count in his opinion. That’s what he said. His poor excuse for cheating on you.

Since that day, you refuse to sleep in the same room with him. Just like you didn’t let him touch you. The thought of riding the same dick he pushed into some bitch’s cunt was enough to leave your pussy dry most of the time when it comes to your husband.

“Oh, my beloved wife,” Ransom lifts his head from his latest conquest’s tits.

“Does she want to join us?” The girl squeaks as her eyes land on you.

Ransom grins, but you ignore the little pang in your chest. “Ah, better not. She’s frigid, you know.” He says to the girl he has on top of your kitchen counter.

“When you are done here, call someone to get rid of the kitchen counter. You never know where your little skank was before you found her on the sidewalk,” you snap at your husband.

He watches you open the fridge to get a bottle of water. “If you would excuse us now,” he grunts. “Or do you want to watch?” Ransom tries to rile you up. It’s a fight for dominance and you won’t lose it.

“Sorry, but limp dicks don’t do it for me, honey,” you bite back. “I’ll talk to our neighbor. He invited me over to talk about the next book we want to read. At least he’s got good taste.”

“See. That’s why I prefer fucking hot women like Cassie.”

“My name is Kathy,” the blonde protests. “Did you already forget my name?” She frowns deeply. “Ran?”

“He didn’t even listen when you told him your name.” You walk out of the kitchen, sway in your hips. “If you go home with Ransom Drysdale, you are destined to get disappointed. In any way. He doesn’t even know where to find your G-spot, and he won’t try to find it …

“Y/N, hey,” Andy smiles widely when you stand in front of his door. It happens ever so often since you found out about Ransom’s infidelity. “Bad day?”

You sniff and shake your head. “Do you have a drink with my name on it, Andy?” He opens the door wider to let you in. Andy doesn’t ask what happened. He waits for you to talk to him.

“Always, neighbor.” He closes the door behind you. “What can I offer to you.”

“Distraction, and maybe a place to stay for the night,” you lick your lips. “Ransom has company.” Your eyes drop to the diamond ring on your finger.

“He brought one of his sidepieces to your home,” Andy sounds almost shocked. Almost… “Why would he do such a thing?”

“He likes to play games.” You shrug. “I refused to play along and let him fuck me after I found out about his harem of bimbos. If only he was at least a himbo with a big dick.”

Andy nods thoughtfully when you finally explode.

“I had to let my doctor check me for STDs. Can you imagine how I felt? I’m married and ask them to run all the tests. I bet they believed I’m the one who cheated!” You start to pace the room. “I haven’t looked at another man.”

“Y/N, you need to take deep breaths,” Andy softly speaks to you. 

He looks at you with soft blue eyes, and fuck, he looks so good. Did he always look so good?

“No. I need to get this out.” You raise your hand. “I-I was always faithful. I could’ve fucked countless guys, but I didn’t. Because that’s not who I am, Andy.”

“I know. You’re a good girl,” he replies, making you stop in your tracks.

He looks at you, eyes drifting toward your lips. You take a breath, and another before you grab his face to kiss him. Andy doesn’t hesitate. He eagerly kisses you back.

Damn, he tastes even better. Like mint, and the coffee he drank. You cup the back of his neck and run your free hand over his back. He moans into you, tongue delving into your mouth.

“Fuck,” he wraps his arms around you and kisses you again. This time, he suckles at your tongue. “You taste so good.”

He laughs against you. “You too,” Andy nips at your lips. “Do you want this? I don’t want to take advantage of you. We can just talk a little and…”

You silence his doubts with your lips. “I wanted you the moment you moved in across the street four years ago.”

“Same,” he pants between kisses. “But you were married, and I was freshly divorced.” You grab the hem of his shirt, shoving it up to his arms. “Fuck, you looked so cute in your summer dress.”

“Yeah?” You whine as he buries his face in your neck. He kisses your skin, nipping and licking your sweet spot while you hastily unbuckle his belt. “What did you want to do with me?”

“Fuck you until you can’t walk straight.” Andy shoves his pants down his legs, stepping out of them.

“Just like right now?”

You gasp when he grips your hips to hoist you up and slam you into the wall, causing a few picture frames to drop to the ground.

Andy doesn’t seem to mind. He crushes his lips onto yours, kissing you passionately. You moan into his mouth and wrap your legs around his waistline.

“Right now,” he growls against you. All softness is gone when he looks at you pressed against the wall. “I wanna ruin you for him.”

“Ruin me. Make me yours,” you challenge. You allow him to grind his erection against your core and offer your body to him. All you want in return is to forget about your unfaithful husband.

“If you let me have you, I won’t allow you to go back to him. You’ll be mine,” Andy warns. “Name what you want.”

You whimper at his words. Ransom never asked what you want. No one ever did.

“You.” You breathlessly reply. “I want you. Make me forget about him.”

You roll to your side, smiling as your eyes land on the man next to you. Still, you hold your breath. What if this wasn’t the best idea you ever had?

What if he regrets what happened last night?

What if he breaks his promises and forgot about all the things he said to you while he claimed your body?

Andy dips his head to look at you. “Morning beautiful.” He rolls to his side to look at you. “Slept well?”

“Yeah,” you don’t know why your voice trembles. Maybe because you fear Andy is the same as your unfaithful husband. He seems so different from the prick you are married to, but you let a pretty face and charming personality fool you once.

Andy runs his hand over your arm, fingertips tickling your skin. “What do you want to do today?”

“I don’t know,” you answer. Honestly, after last night everything has changed. You only came to Andy’s house to seek shelter for a few hours, or one night.

Now that you gave in to your feelings, you cannot go back to Ransom and pretend it doesn’t break you to see how less you mean to him.

“How about we go to your house, deliver the divorce papers I prepared while you were sleeping, and pack your things? I’ll bring a few friends to help you carry the heavy stuff.”

You’re taken aback. “What?” Stammering you look at Andy who lovingly cups your cheek to press a soft kiss on your lips. “Andy, this isn’t funny. I need to think about what to do now. You don’t know my husband. He’s a prick, but also dangerous and he won’t let me walk out on him so easily.”

“You think I care?” Andy chuckles darkly. “Oh, beautiful. I told you that you are going to be mine when you let me, have you. Didn’t I?”

“Yes.” You remember vividly how you begged him to make you his, and only his. That you agreed to become his pretty little wife, and always cum for him. “That was in the heat of the moment. Wasn’t it?”

“Y/N, I dreamed of taking you out for years. Every time I wanted to ask you to leave your husband, you told me about him with so much adoration that I couldn’t make a move. But now that I know he fucked up, I can’t miss the chance.”

“Andy, I can’t end my marriage only to become someone else’s arm candy or his most prized possession. I’m not a toy, nor a brainless doll you can use.”

“Baby, I swear this isn’t how I see you,” Andy presses another soft kiss on your lips. “Let me help you. If you don’t want to be with me, I understand. All I want is to make sure that Ransom Drysdale leaves you the fuck alone.”

“Why?” You question.

“Because,” he kisses you again, slow and gentle, “I think I love you…”

“Y/N, what’s the douche from next door doing at my house,” Ransom follows you and Andy. “I’m talking to you!”

“Oh, I thought as you are busy disappointing one of your playthings with your limp dick,” you snap at Ransom. “I can bring a real man to satisfy my needs too.”

“Beautiful, why don’t you go upstairs and look for all the things you want to take with you? My friends will be here any minute.”

“Okay,” you nervously glance at Ransom. “Be careful. He’s dangerous.”

“Don’t worry, baby,” Andy pecks your cheek. “I’ll be careful.”

Turning his head toward Andy your husband’s features darken. “If you touched my wife, you are dead.” He pats the gun hidden under his jacket. “If you leave my house now, I’ll only break every bone in your body.”

Andy laughs into Ransom’s face.

“You’ve got no clue who I’m.” Stepping toward your husband, Andy sizes Ransom up. “Do you honestly believe you are scaring me? You’re nothing but a pathetic man cheating on his beautiful wife and,” Andy leans closer to Ransom to whisper in his ear. “I’m long enough in town to know that you are not on top of the food chain any longer. Your time is running out.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about!”

“The deal last week,” Andy smirks darkly, “the one you couldn’t seal? I took it over. Your business partners are my partners now. Your wife. Is mine. Your friends, mine too. I dismantled Ransom Drysdale piece by piece.”

“Why? How?”

“At first, I moved in next door to check your territory out. But then, I saw your wife and the way you treated her. She didn’t know you were a piece of shit cheating on her from day one.”

“You did all this for my wife?” Ransom hiccups. “You’re insane. Starting a war over some pussy!”

“You don’t get it,” Andy hisses. “Y/N is not some pussy to me. She’s everything, and I’ll make her my queen.”

While you look for the things you want to take with you, Andy threatens Ransom and his organization.

When you walk back down the stairs, your husband already signed the divorce papers. He will let you go and get out of town as fast as possible.

Ransom didn’t know that no one messes with Andrew Barber. The head of the Boston mafia. One of the deadliest men alive…

Tags in reblog.

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Could I request Helaena and Aegon in a ploy relationship with more femine male reader who helps around the castle, the relationship starting while helping Hel out when she’s pregnant with the twins and showing that he’s not afraid to stand up to Aegon despite his reputation? Can be headcanon/fic format

The dragon couple and the servant

Heleagon x male!reader

warning : fluff, comfort, kiss, cuddling, alcohol consumption, reader has longer hair

info : thank you dear anon for the request always happy to write for hotd and liked your words very much. Heleagon really needs something good. Enjoy reading and have a good day :)

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~

The king and queen of the greens were destined to wear the crown one day since Aegon and Helaena were born so it had to happen according to the council of the greens.

This is how and no other way the royal green Hightower Targaryen family was meant to continue, and to help the young couple they had not only their own family to help them but also numerous servants and ladies in waiting as well as the Kingsguard.

People who accepted the orders and helped the couple from the outside without a second thought…but despite everything, there was hardly a knight, nor even a servant.

A small house of knights from a very small country came to the king's court to swear allegiance to Aegon, who first found Helaena's company when he caught her butterfly that had landed on the tip of his nose. ,,A shield will come to help” she had said then, not knowing that these words were to become wharer than anything else when she took the butterfly back and he saw it as his duty to bring her back to her mate, for apparently the queen had no guards or they were off looking for the king again.

He walked beside her at a certain distance knowing her preference to keep to herself but it was too dangerous without protection. “What kind of butterfly is it my Queen?” he had dared to ask as he looked at the insect's greenish golden wings, seeing the Targaryen Hightower gently stroking the animal and giving him a soft smile, seeming happy as she began to tell and tell and tell.

The conversation continued in her room, she offered him a place on the floor where she had more animals and maybe he smiled more often because he liked the young queen, maybe he smiled when she put some animals on his hand and maybe he smiled when he looked into her pretty violet eyes because she was the most beautiful thing he knew.

°Heleana and his relationship because of his long hair she loved to braid it as a distraction special kinds of braids that kings and queens had worn. It reassured him when she was so close to him he could protect her in return Aegon who usually looked in front of him also got a few small braids as best he could and the three of them spent their time like this when they all needed some rest.

Aegon the king was the king's first son with his second wife, a young man with a reputation for being hot-headed, unhinged and drunk, as well as for whoring in the streets of Silk.

Opinions that everyone had, even he himself knew of the king's deeds and had once even accompanied him to keep an eye on him, sneaking out of the brothels more than once for his own goodness' sake.

He had been insulted by Aegon in his drunken stupor, he said that a woman's appearance in a man was the best way to start working in a brothel and even when he was angry with his king, sometimes even wanting to hit him at the end of the day when night fell and he saw this figure stumbling towards the castle wall, he sighed and went down. “I-I deeoon't neeaad you,” Aegon muttered and fell down again if he hadn't been supported, at the end of the day he felt sorry for the king.

Yet there was something handsome about the Targaryen Hightower king the bright pretty hair, violet eyes and something inside that he wants to do good but doesn't know how. ,,You'll feel better in a moment, my king,” he agreed and carried him over to the bed and felt Aegon holding him, not wanting him to leave…and he didn't.

He stayed all night giving him water and a little bread until the king fell asleep again, receiving quiet thanks and even a brief hug while Aegon found the fine soft hands soothing on his. Until in the morning he found a sober Aegon who gave him an ashamed look, Heleana came to them some time later with a cup of tea and food and the three of them ate, sometimes quietly, sometimes talking, but most of all the royal couple seemed glad that there was someone who took them both as they were.

°Aegon then apologized for his bad jokes and misdeeds would give his new friend and maybe even more in this three-way relationship a sword and armor a small land for the future. It would be the small deeds of a king trying to mend his ways. Aegon on Sunfyre with their shared lover and Helaena on Dreamfyre taking flights together. Such intimate moments that Ageon actually only did alone and Helena had a better relationship with her dragon were shared with the only person they were close to.

But even the moons that passed became more stressful and darker and the three shared the bed at some point, even if it was Aegon's prerogative to take care of his wife.

The first signs of nausea and pain were always guarded at first by Aegon, who eventually withdrew and then by her lover, Heleana offered his hand or arm everywhere, helped her climb Dreamyfre, brought her food and thought like teas and tinctures. ,,A new insect a bug for good luck” he had said and showed her the pink beetle a gift he had ridden into the forest for knowing she was interested in it ,,An animal of love and blood thank you" she replied and grabbed his hand for a moment in thanks before turning to her new friend.

But another shadow soon settled over the three of them the good time they were having was disrupted after the birth of the twins where Aegon and the immediately in the room were the only ones holding the two besides the queen herself the king shirked his duties more and more as the shadow of war began to settle over the land, ,,My king, your deeds must make you escape punishment and take the crown, take your advice and do what you must,” he admonished again as he met the green king sitting drunk on the throne at night.

He was sympathetic to the situation of Heleana and his children, Rhaenyra on Dragonstone and his own brother full of ambition for the throne. But on the contrary, all he heard were slurred words and insults, which resulted in him grabbing the king by the collar and dragging him behind him, ignoring his shouts and commands with a heavy heartbeat before opening the door to Heleana's room softly.

The queen lay in her bed in her arms the twins a soft smile on her lips while a beetle sat on her head, ,,There Aegon there lies our heart, this throne ascend it and win the war for your will for the will of your children. I am your loyal shield but without you I can protect no one” he said and let it go hearing the sniffling as Aegon wiped away the tears before a soft smile formed on his lips. He pulled his friend, his heart into a hug, hugged him, thanked him and pressed a big kiss on his head as Heleana had once done after the birth of the twins.

°Not only did Aegon make him part of the Kingsguard, he used him as a guard for himself and his sister. The three of them kept repeating the words of courage to each other, trying to come up with plans and advice to help Aegon in the green council. It was their cohesion of dragon dreams, the king and the sworn shield that the first battles of the war, the victories went to the greens while all three enjoyed the twins who saw the three as their three-headed dragon parents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[serxinns]

Been cooking up something in my mind but KiriBaku x reader vampire au Kiri leads people using his charm for him and bakugo to munch on but here is the kicker when reader comes into the picture they are absolute cultz but they make it out alive so imagine kirishima trying to lead reader to bakugo only for this poor human to hit a light pole and end up nearly getting hit by car scaring the jeepers out of Kiri to the point bakugo is like,maybe we should help them out because this is ridiculous. I don't know something has been stiring in my brain cook with it if you wish,love your writing

-🦈shark anon

Shark anon your wish will be granted~ sorry for the wait here's a treat for you on fictober!

⚠️TW⚠️: violence, death of character (not the reader ofc) brutal murder, drugging, accidental drugging?, implied gay relationships, vampires and more if you are uncomfortable with that DONT READ

The woman giggled at the charming young man was jokes and attempting to flirt making the young lady blush and twirled her dark colored hair as bar tender offered the two another drink "I'll pay" the woman was about to protest untill the man said giving her a toothy smile with a wink which made the lady tensed up quiet her down to the man's satisfaction

"Why don't we get out of here and go to my place sweetness?" He offered gulping down the last drop of alcohol from his glass as the woman did with hers and wrapping her arms around his shoulder, he chuckled putting the money on the table and heading out putting his other arm on her waist.

There revealed a fancy red Cheorvet in the parking lot the woman was amazed not only she got seduced by a charming man but he was rich the man opened the passenger side for her with a gentle smile "after you?" The woman wanted to melt right then and there as she thanked the man and got in the car "if you want a drink there some wine in the back or some water" the man commented with a strange smile but the woman didn't noticed as she grabbed some water and slowly drank it putting it in the cup holder

A few mins in and she was starting to feel sleepy she lay on the car door slowly closing her eyes the last thing she could hear was the man saying something but it was all a mumbled as she passed out,

"Finally" the red haired man said as they made it to his destination a large mansion he lived for many many years there at the front doorstep waited a grumpy blonde haired male stomping his foot impatiently as the car pulled up "About time shitty hair!" He snarled walking towards him as his red eyes glared at him "Did you get something? It better be fresh human blood I'm tried of drinking shitty cattle blood" the red hair male chuckled "calm your self kats be patient and yes it's a humans blood a and it's a female" Katsukis eyes lit up a bit once he heard human in thst sentence

"About time!" He scowled as Kirishima chuckled at his boyfriends impatiently "but make sure you save some for me the unlike the last time.." he sternly said as the blonde avoided eye contact when he mentioned that incident "I was hungry I couldn't control it!" " You went on an rampage and killed 5 other humans! I had to get garlic to fully stop your ass!" He said katsuki stayed silent not having any excuses but only clicked his teeth "whatever I'm hungry let's see what kind of meal we got!" Kirishima rolled his eyes as he unlocked opened the passenger revealing a young woman knocked out in the car

Katsuki smiled hungrily already forming at the sight of the poor woman "man I can't wait to sink her teeth in her!" He grabbed the woman his fangs revealing and piercing the woman's neck the woman's eyes shock open as she screamed bloody murder, desperately trying to hit the male off her but to her unfortunate he was too strong..she started to get dizzy and her cries turned into gurgles as her throat filled with her own blood..she then laid limp in katsukis arms as he sucked more of her blood

"Hey leave some for me!" He hit the blonde on the back of the head as he growled throwing the woman to him Kirishima then did the same sucking the poor womans blood then dropping her on the ground "you drank most of it that was gonna be dinner for tonight!" Kirishima groaned as katsuki rolled his eyes which made the red hair more angry "I'm going out AGAIN and this time and your coming with me!" "Like hell I am!" Katsuki sneered back

Katsuki hated going to crowded places he rather hunt for his prey while their alone and vulnerable out in the open makes him overwhelmed and lash out easily and his boyfriends knows that "you'll stay in the car and keep watch if that makes you feel better" there was a silent for a moment katsuki replied with a quiet "deal" and both headed off looking for another bar

...

"Ugh where is he!?" You slammed your down and rested your head on the counter the bartender giving you a confused glance you were suppose to meet up with this cute guy the two of you have bee talking for some time now and started to catch feelings for one another he planned the outting at this particular bar and said he would arrived at 9:00pm it's 12AM and he haven't answered your calls nor has he replied to your text leaving them on read you wanted to cry you felt so utterly humiliated and tricked you just wanted to get shit faced at this point

Kirishima arrived at the bar it was pretty lively full of drunk chattering, singing and people playing card games and pool he looked around to find the perfect target, he looked around untill he saw a person seated by the counters by themselves putting their head down he smiled wickedly as he slithered over there makimg his move "Well hello there!" He said putting on his charm facade on the person looked towards his direction and smiled awkwardly Eljirou can't lie you looked absolutely stunning in that outfit your hair looking neatly done with some jewelry he even started to be more interested in the human

"You look a bit lonely may I accompany you?" You chuckled patting down a seat besides you as a invitation he then sat besides you ordering a drink from the bartender then laying his attention back onto you "What's a pretty thing like you sitting alone looking gloomy?" He asked, the human sighed "I was supposed to be meeting up with this guy I met on a dating app we chatted for a while catch feelings and then one day he told me to meet at this spot and told me he'll be there at 9pm and here I am sitting here like an clown humiliated and dumb thinking he was actually gonna be there" you dryly joked trying to put some humor in it so he won't think you were hurt over some dumb little thing

"Now don't say that about yourself sweetheart that guy is a asshole anyway you dodged a bullet luckily" he gently grabbed your chin and lifted towards his direction you blushed a bit as he smiled knowing his plan was working, "why don't we have some fun just us two?" He said as he offered his hand towards you with that same infectious smile you smiled at him back "o-ok!" You nervously stuttered out

the two of you had fun at the bar while the night was young playing pool and but you kept hitting the pool balls towards the wall rather then in the hole, cards with other people and him always taking the victory and money, having fun conversations during this kirishima was starting to feel something strange...something he felt when he met Katsukina few centuries back he felt like he liked seeing you happy he liked seeing you happy and he didn't wanna admit it he felt angry at a guy that he shouldn't even give a damn about angry and wanting to rip him apart all because of you it was strange.. werid even he almost felt bad but he had to do what he had to do

"So you have car" you nodded sideways "I took a taxi here!" "Perfect" Kirishima though taking the opportunity "do you want to drive at your place?" You hesitated for a second you were about to accept untill you hesitate you just met this guy at a bar out of all places what were you thinking your mind was filled with worse case scenarios and best case scenarios Kirishima noticed your nervousness "it's fine I won't Bite at all I swear!" He smiled showing his sharp teeth, you gulped and sighed "Yes ill go" as he led the way making sure you had the weapon secure in case

Bakugo was in the car getting impatient, he tried sleeping through it but the hunger kept bothering him that's whwn he spotted his boyfriend and the human headjng out the bar talking and having fun, he smiled wickedly turning into his bat form peaking at the window

You were mostly chattering off about your interests and liked starting tomget comfortable with him untill something hard hit you "Ack-!" You felt down to the ground Both vampires looked at the clumsy human as they were trying to get themselves up "I'm fine I'm fine" you said laughing off the pain Kirishima chuckled but also was kinda worried- wait him worried about a stranger he just met!? He started feeling a bit guilty..and ashmed he didn't wanna kill you he really didn't...maybe if he killed you quick and easy would u still be mad at him?

His mind kept twisted untill he saw you walking into the street a car zooming towards the poor soul Kirishima acted fast grabbing your hand and yanking you back making him hit his rock hard chest "watch where you going asshole!" The driver shouted as Kirishima glared at him "Oh wow thank you!" You smiled brightly at him and that was the final nail the coffin

While bakugo who watched the whole interaction wonder how stupid this human was at this point he didn't felt like eating anymore just trying to comprehend how can a human like them can be this clumsy!? And the fact was you weren't even drunk and your all over the places tripping on ait almost falling to the point his boyfriend had to carry you towards the car he lay you in the passenger seat while katsuki revealed himself in the backseat makimg you yelp when you saw another man here

"W-who are you?" The human stuttered "Oh it's just my boyfriend I promise he won't Bite he can be a little grumpy but ocje you get the know him he's a like a soft little teddy bear~ Kiri teased making the blonde blush a bit quickly insulting him telling him to focus "Hey there toots~" you gulped at his teasing demonor "um hello!" You felt a bit uneasiness with his present but if Kirishima knows him then it's fine right they won't hurt you right? During the car drive Kirishima noticed the awkward tension so he decided to lighten up the mood by jokes and teasing around which lighten up the mood making sure you were comfortable with them

After a whole hour of joking, talking, and teasing you were starting to get thirsty katsuki handed you a bottle of water and you gulped it down within a minute a few mins later you were starting to get sleepy the room was spinning and the voices of Kirishima and bakugo were starting to get quieter and muffled the last thing you saw was Kirishima looking shocked as you closed your eyes

"Fucking shit.. I forgot the water we packed was drugged fuck.." katsuki cussed under his breath while Kirishima slammed his head on the horn and groaned great..

He then drove other to their place and got out the car and picked you up your body leaning against his chest as he carried up to bed and laid you down in the middle he then took off your pants jewelry and other clothing that could be uncomfortable and closed the door behind for the two vampires fo disguise about the human

"So..it's established we both take interest in the human right?" Kirishima said Katsuki grumbled in response "so what should we do with them?" "Keep them of course" katsuki bluntly said "they're gonna find out anyway plus what if they tell?" Kirishima was hesitant tho he did take interest in you but he didn't wanna risk it what if you would hate them forever for their true identities?, it's just too risky...but you'll understand right the so it was then established that you were gonna stay with them for a while

They then went upstairs to their shared bedroom and you sleeping soundly they changed into their pajamas and kissed each other and went to bed

during that kiri felt someone latching onto him, he looked down to see the human cuddling up next to him and katsuki glaring jealousy at the two of you so he got up went to the other side of the bed and told kiri to give him space ever so "nicely" and latched onto him too kiri chuckled to himself maybe this isn't so bad after all

[hope-you-brought-kneepads-bitch]

Vampire girlfriend pt 2

Summary: You go on the mission with Nat and of course it’s going really well, afterwords Wanda is all too happy to see you again, although when you end up back in isolation Wanda has to get you out and take you away somewhere, luckily you know the perfect place to go

Warnings: Minors DNI 18+ mentions of smut, Wanda being an emo baby, swearing, vampire, blood lmk if I’ve missed any

Words: 2000+

A/n: here’s my part two! Will probably make a part 3 then this will be done, I’m getting back to Venom reader soon, please enjoy!

"Y/n I swear the fucking god you better behave before I cut you into little pieces" Nat growled at you when you started messing around in the quinjet trying to distract the assassin "awh come on Nat this thing has auto pilot, how about we have some fun?"

Nat spun her head around to you "aren't you with Wanda? Pretty sure she'd kill me"

"Oooh so you're thinking about it? I won't tell Wanda if you don't" you pulled Nat's spiny chair around leaning over her "maybe you could join Wanda and I in bed? She's really good at following instructions, especially on her knees" Nat hadn't moved but you had moved closer to the woman's face

"So? Do you want to do it in this plane?" You lent forward to kiss her but a swift kick to your stomach stopped you from that "oof! Fuck Nat, you've got some kick on you, good to know when I corner you later" you winked pulling back sitting back on your chair, when you got a phone call you smiled answering it

"Hey honey, how are you? Yeah I'm okay...no don't worry about me and Nat, I think we'll get along great, I love you too"

You hung up and Nat laughed "you love her but you're trying it on with me? Pathetic creature"

You pocketed your phone standing up again and going behind Nat as she focused on flying the plane, moving your hands onto her shoulders you began massaging them smiling when you heard a soft groan pass her lips "so predictable, you act all tough but you just need someone to look after you, someone to kiss you soft" you lent down close to her ear, your breath sending shivers down her spine, wait vampires had breath?

"And someone to fuck you so hard you see stars" her own breath hitched and you smirked starting to kiss her neck softly and she let her guard down "just admit it Natalia you want me and that's okay sweetie, you just have to share with Wanda" your kisses got harder and Nat finally came to her senses standing up and pushing you away

"Don't you ever touch me again! Wanda's my best friend and it kills me to see her fawn over you, a stupid vampire who thinks bedding multiple women at the same time is fun"

"Have you ever had an orgy? It's one of life's greatest pleasures trust me, until one person gets jealous and murders the other women to have you all to herself covered in blood, I didn't mind though, being covered in blood made her hornier, but I will say I also liked her covered in blood because that mixed with sweat and cu-

Nat sat back down and jolted the plane making it shift suddenly and you fell to the ground "shit! Nat what the hell was that?!"

The woman laughed "to stop you from being a dick, now shut up for the rest of mission"

You growled standing up and dusting yourself off "it’s okay Natalia I know you wouldn’t be able to resist me soon, I’ll get to you when I’ve finished with Wanda and her ritual”

Nat turned her head back to you with an raised eyebrow “what are you talking about?”

You chuckled “ooh peaked your interest have I? Let’s just say Wanda will be with me for all eternity like she wants soon enough”

Before Nat could respond the AI over the quinjet made it known you were arriving at your destination so Nat chose to not say anything but you knew she understood what you said and so you remained quiet the rest of the mission.

********************************************************

"Y/n!" As soon as you walked through the door Wanda was in your arms wrapping her legs around your waist peppering your face with kisses "I missed you so much! Did you do okay?" You kissed her back lowering her down onto the ground "I was right about there being no more vampires there but it was okay otherwise"

You kissed Wanda's neck going up to her ear "I was thinking of you the whole time, you should send me some pictures next time"

Wanda nodded "naked or lingerie?" She whispered back and you smirked "both, and some videos too"

Nat coughed up breaking the two of you apart "yeah so anyway you're going back to the cell for a few days"

"What?! Why? She's fine Nat!" Wanda had jumped down from you and was now in Nat's face but the Russian remained stoic "she needs to be held in isolation incase she contacted her vampire friends"

Wanda went too say something but you stopped her "it's okay Wands, if Natalia wants to spend her free time watching me do nothing in isolation then that's her choice, take me to solitude Nat"

You gave Wanda one last kiss promising to see her again soon and followed Nat through the building

"If you don't stop staring at my ass I'll kick yours" Nat said after a few minutes and you just laughed "sounds kinky, I'm in"

You heard her scoff and turn around to you pushing you against a wall "right now? Can we go to my room and get my strap on? My hands are a little tired from the mission"

You heard other footsteps before Nat did but when she did she pulled away quick looking towards the noise, it was Tony

"Hey Twilight! Are you sparkling today?"

You threw him a middle finger "I will rip you apart from the inside out one of these days"

The man grinned "then you'll have Pepper to answer too"

"Trust me I'd be more than happy to deal with Pepper, she could use a good spanking" your laugh echoed the hallway and Tony turned bright red deciding just to walk past you two leaving you alone

"Aww I think I hurt his feelings, I'm right about Pepper though, speaking of, Nat how's Maria?"

Nat glared at you "don't you ever say her name again, now get your ass to isolation"

************************************************************

You'd never thought you'd be back in this stupid cell, god it was depressing, the room was small and cramped, although the other room was small at least you could go into a garden and have Wanda come and see you, now a guard has to accept anyone

"Dude come on, I can get you so many women if you'd just let Wanda come and see me, don't you want women?……or men? I can get you men but it’ll take me a little longer because men gross me out”

The man didn’t waiver, instead he walked away from you leaving you in the stupid little box “you’ll regret this!”

“He’ll regret what?” The voice made you jump looking up to the window on the roof that was now open “Wanda? How the hell did you get up there?”

She laughed jumping down into the room where you caught her “you know I can fly” she didn’t let you reply just kissing you hard making you sit down on the bench bringing her with you

“Wait Wands, hang on” you gently pushed her away making her frown “why?”

“You deserve sex in a nicer place than this dingy room”

“I guess….when are you getting out?” She lent forward kissing your neck and you groaned “baby please, I want nothing more than to rip your clothes off and devour you like I normally do but not here okay? How about you use some mind control and make the guard open the door?”

Wanda pulled away from your neck nodding “then where will we go?”

“The beach so i can see you in that little bikini I like”

She giggled jumping off of your lap and beckoning the guard back over who was very surprised to see her with you “miss Maximoff?! What are you doing in there-

She was already in his mind as his eyes went red and face was blank, within no time the door was open and you and Wanda were out running through the building until Wanda stopped “are you okay babe?” You asked and she smirked “I can apparate us anywhere”

You laughed with her “I keep forgetting, okay take me away princess”

*******************************************************************************

“They’re gone?! Nat screamed at the scared guards ignoring Steve trying to calm her down “Nat maybe-

She pushed past him heading outside being followed closely by Maria “Nat!” Nothing from the woman

“Natalia Romanov you stop right now and tell me what is going on!”

Nat stopped turning around to her angry girlfriend and instantly calming down “sorry I-I just need to find Wanda, that vampire won’t get what she wants”

Maria was confused, yeah sure you were getting really close to the young witch but nothing bad would happen right “Wanda’s just going through things Nat, who wouldn’t want to bed a dangerous vampire?”

Nat had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at Maria’s admission “she just wants Wanda to complete a stupid blood ritual so she can be more powerful, making Wanda a vampire is the worst thing could happen!”

Maria was gobsmacked, what the hell was going on? Aliens? Sure, but a vampire turning a witch into a vampire is a step too far, she’d be powerful and dangerous, very dangerous in fact

*********************************************************

“Where are we babe?” Wanda glanced around the small cabin liking how cozy it looked but she was still a little confused, she thought you wanted the beach?

You wrapped your arms around her waist kissing her neck softly “just our nice little vacation home, I have something fun for you later”

Wanda turned around in your hold kissing your lips “can’t I have it now? She pouted and you shook your head “nope, it’s very very special and I need to prepare it, so you can go and explore the forest while I do that”

“Can’t I help you? I can give you kisses while you do that, I can close my eyes too!” Wanda tried kissing you again but you pushed her away slightly “if you’re going to be a brat you won’t get anything and I’ll have the surprise all to myself” your eyes darkened and Wanda nodded stepping back from you “sorry baby” she said sheepishly and you smiled “thank you honey, now go on, go and explore, don’t go too far though I’ll feel it and come for you”

Wanda nodded kissing you on the cheek and going outside, “I won’t go too far I promise”

***********************************************************

The leaves crunched underneath their feet as the two women moved through the forest “Nat are you sure they’re here?” Maria whispered and Nat nodded “I can smell the stupid vampire”

Maria frowned “that’s a little odd baby but okay I’ll let you carry on”

The pair carried on through the forest before coming to a clearing and a cabin “found it!” Nat rushed to the front door before hearing a voice “Nat? Why are you here?”

Wanda returned from her walk with some flowers for you, she looked so sweet bless her “Wanda I’m so mad at you but you need to come back, you’re not safe here”

Wanda sighed “listen Nat I’m sorry I ran away with Y/n but she didn’t need to be locked up, can’t you just leave us here alone?”

Nat rolled her eyes “this isn’t some fairytale thing Wanda you’re not safe, she wants to make you a vampire”

Wanda shook her head laughing and pushed past Nat entering the cabin again seeing you talking to someone no one recognised “oh who’s this baby?”

You turned around smiling at Wanda before quickly frowning at Nat and Maria “I didn’t think we’d have any interruptions honey but no worries, this is Carol, she’s here to help with the surprise for you” Carol smiled at the three zoning in on Wanda “she’s very pretty Y/n, and she looks so very sweet” the woman licked her lips and you pinched her hip “mine Carol, remember that”

Carol laughed kissing you on the cheek “aw little vamp don’t get too cocky, I could take her from you with two fingers”

Wanda started to feel a little uncomfortable and tried stepping in “baby what’s going on?” Your whole body relaxed walking towards Wanda and picking her up spinning her around kissing her softly making her giggle “sweet sweet girl, do you remember me saying what a wonderful vampire you’d make?”

She shook her head no “it was when you had a long day and I ate you out for a few hours, I whispered it while you were climaxing for the 4th time” you finished with the biggest smirk on your face “babe! But yes I remember”

“Well Carol and I think you’d make a great vampire so we wanted to make you one-

“Don’t you dare Y/n! You better let us take Wanda home right now!”

You tore your eyes away from Wanda remembering the two annoying bugs that wormed their way inside your life (death) “you are really testing my patience Natalia, just because I rejected you on the mission doesn’t mean you can try and tear Wanda and I apart”

Wanda whipped her head around to Nat who had her mouth hung open “what-I- I no! That didn’t happen”

You shook your head tutting “Nat we’re all adults here, you can admit that you came onto me by presenting your neck to me, and while it’s a wonderful neck your legs didn’t need to be open and taunting me, the smell of your arousal almost got me but then I remembered my love Wanda” you kissed Wanda “I did nip her skin honey and I feel disgusted with myself, I’m sorry” you gave her your best sad puppy dog expression and she nodded “I am a little upset but not at you, at her”

She pointed her attention to Nat “I knew you wanted her Nat how could you act like such a whore with a vampire?! Especially my vampire!” Wanda was now erratic and it made you smile, she was so hot when jealous

“Wanda you can’t be serious?? Are you really protecting a violent, manipulative and frankly perverted criminal vampire?”

As much as you were enjoying the scene unfolding in front of you, you brought Wanda into back into your arms “honey please relax your blood will taste so much better if you’re happy” you started nipping at her neck and she sighed allowing herself to relax in your hold “that’s it pretty girl”

“Wanda-

The other vampire Carol rolled her eyes and flicked her hand sending the two women out the door and locking it behind them

“Fuck me they’re annoying” Carol turned to you and Wanda kissing “awe I do love gay affection but if we’re going to turn this little one we need to get a move on”

You groaned reluctantly pulling away from Wanda’s sweet lips “do you want to be a vampire pretty witch?”

Wanda bit her lip nervously unsure on what to say and you sensed that “I know it seems daunting but just think, we’ll be together forever, neither of us will die” you lent close to her ear “and the sex would be absolutely incredible, I can carve my name into your pretty skin while buried deep inside of you-

You didn’t have a chance to finish before Wanda was nodding her head “yes! Yes I’ll become a vampire, as long as you’re the one who does it”

You smiled nodding to Carol who winked in response and disappeared leaving you both alone

“Of course I’m the one doing it, but we have a little ritual to do before I sink my teeth into you, Carol needs to get things ready, let’s have a nap okay?”

Wanda kissed you softly “okay, will I be safe?”

“I trust Carol with my life and death baby, she’s been my best friend for 100s of years, so yes Wanda you’ll be very safe”

Wanda smiled “okay, I trust you”

“Then let’s go”

[ladyelissarose]

‘Look Up’ 

 Ghost x female reader - callsign ‘Grenade’

Summary: After a small rescue mission turns out like no one expected, especially Grenade, Ghost is left stuck with her and her struck out heart. His hard, cold heart refuses to comfort hers, but in the end, the tables turned on him.

Warnings:  mentions of deaths, pretty gore, angst, crying, then fluff?

Enjoy!

 “This is Price, how copy?”

The 141 Task Force were all separated as they searched the grounds in between trailers in Norway. The sun had begun to set, painting the skies an orange color and clouds a light pink color, a little tint of indigo could be seen on the very top, near the heavens, but was overpowered by the suns brighter colors. The cold weather in their atmosphere was quite bearable, but that didn’t stop them from excessively sweating with anxiety. 

  “This is Ghost.”

 “This is Soap.”

 “This is Gaz.”

 “This is Roach.”

 “This is Alejandro.”

 “This is Grenade.”

After Grenade gave out her name, in her delicate but deep voice, Ghost being himself was the first to speak up in confusion about the new voice,

  “Price who’s Grenade?”

Price looked behind him and saw his new addition to the team, Grenade, who was trailing behind him closely, maybe 5’5 in height, sporting black cargo pants along with her favorite dark grey oversized shirt, that was tucked in as neatly as possible, shielding her chest was her bulletproof vest. Her round eyes were focused, sharp, and her gloved hands held her gun in perfect position. Price was pleased with Grenade and smiled to himself as he replied simply,

  “Couldn’t debrief you boys this morning, but the recruit you all have been asking for was sent in by Laswell today. Later I’ll introduce her. For now let’s focus, have any of you seen that trailer?”

 ‘Her? He can’t be fucking serious...’ 

 Ghost thought as he rolled his eyes to himself.  Sure, he had been expecting a new recruit, (though he wasn’t part of the guys that had asked for one) but what he didn’t expect, was for it to be a woman. He had no hard feelings towards them necessarily, but just the thought of knowing that they can turn out to be like mean bitches like Valeria, (whom he wholly hated) or they can be completely mushy and useless, he never saw in between or a better version. Soap’s voice broke through the radio and through Ghost’s thoughts as he replied to Price,

  “I haven’t seen it yet, what if they took it already?”

In that moment Roach’s voice came through, informing Soap and the rest,

  “I don’t think so Sergeant, been keeping watch all night and up until you guys arrived, and no ones moved in or out.”

  Alejandro huffed to himself as he questioned Price,

“Don’t you think by now we would’ve heard movement? Noise? I’ve heard absolutely nada.”

 Grenade who had been silent the entire time as she heard her new teams members communicate, felt suspicion at what Alejandro had said, he was right, they were on a rescue mission after all, and yet, none had seen or heard any signs of life. She sighed to herself as she finally voiced out her thoughts, as she suggested to Price who was in front of her,

  “Captain Price, what if we split? I can take the left here, you take the right, these are the two last rows of trailers anyways.”

 Price stopped walking and thought for a second,

 ‘She’ll be in sight anyways... ok.’

“Alrighty then lass, take the left, I’ll be right behind ya going right.”

  “Copy copy.”

Grenade went straightaway towards her destination, taking cautious steps, eagle eyeing her surroundings, even balancing her every breath. Grenade had been in many situations like these; tense, nerve wracking, holding onto the ropes of hope, in between life and death, name it, she had seen and been through all of it. Yet she stuck her head out and made it, did the impossible, and dared to push herself even more. Half the time (MOST of the time) Grenade was underestimated and seen as weak and useless by those who judged her by her looks and size. But Laswell knew who the real Grenade was, hence why she believed that Price would be pleased to have her included into the 141 Task Force. Grenade was a fighter, defender, cold-blooded killer towards those who wrote their death wish with cruel and abominable actions. She wore a blindfold to heartlessly take down anyone who came in her way with bad intentions or destruction, but once it was over, she took it off and she wore their blood with pride, knowing who she was and what she was capable of. But also, Grenade happened to still have a piece of her heart, that beat with love and compassion towards those who deserved it. Grenade felt no feelings towards dead criminals or even live ones, but show her a baby, and she’ll melt and hold onto it tightly, as if she hoped it would mold into her skin and stay safe with her forever. Grenade had witnessed battlefields from the clean beginning to the bloody end, what once was free and a good land, would become a cemetery for the unrecognizable and unjustly sacrificed. But if you caught her staring into the starry skies it the night or the gleaming, rising sun in the promised morning, you’d probably catch a small smile leave her usual, tight, sealed lips. Grenade was an Aesthete at heart, and adored life when it beamed in the most beautiful and amazing ways, from good people to the simplicity of nature, but she was also a soldier, after a wars’ and combats’ own heart. Grenade passed a few trailers, not seeing the number they were looking for, ‘624’. 

  “For fucks sake...”

 She cursed to herself under her breath as she was close to approaching her two last ones, believing that perhaps they both wouldn’t be what she was looking for. She passed the second to the last one, and checked the top numbers, 

  “379... Nope not it. Damn it- Oh...”

Crossing in front of the last one, Grenade huffed in disbelief, she found it, in bold numbers on the trailer read ‘624’ at the corner. Placing her gun in one hand, Grenade stepped closer to the trailer, and with a calm, subtle voice, Grenade called out as she slightly knocked in the metal door,

  “Is anyone in here? We’re here to help you.”

  Grenade laid her ear against the metal door, letting its cool metal touch her warm face, hopefully waiting for any voice to call out in return, signaling that indeed, there was someone inside. Grenade clenched her fists in sight worry that she wasn’t hearing anything, but let out a soft gasp when she heard the most, childish voice say brokenly,

  “h-help us.”

Grenade immediately stepped away from the door and pressed her radio to signal out to Price and the rest,

  “I found the trailer, I heard signs of life. It’s on left side of the dock, last trailer in the last row.”

 “We’re on your way, Grenade. Start taking them out”.

“Yes sir.”

Knowing that her team was coming her way, gave her enough confidence to engage as Price had ordered. Grenade lifted the heavy lock off the door, grunting while doing so, it felt like it weighed a ton. It took a couple of hot seconds to actually take it off without dropping it onto her boots. But Grenade was successful and began to unlatch the other locks, before grabbing the bottom handle, and pulling it up, opening it. Her heart beat happily at first, wanting to believe that she had found them all, and was going to get them all back home safely. But once she had lifted the door completely, her heart was  crushed, shattered, burned and beaten, as she stood in front of the gates of death. All the bodies inside, laid dead on the cold metal floors of the trailer, their skin was pale, and the fading bruises on their skin looked blue and purple. Grenade blinked a couple of times, wanting to make sure that what she was seeing, wasn’t another one of her frequent nightmares, that haunted her. But every time she reopened her eyes, she was met with the same image, death. Grenade let out a deep sigh, trying to swallow the pit of rocks she felt in her throat. She never moved from the door, but instead looked at every person’s body inside, watching to see if any of them moved because they were still breathing, but they were all completely still. It smelled awful as well, like blood and gore, but Grenade was used to it, she had been the cause of a lot of it too while in combat. Grenade was so into her thoughts, about the injustice of Life itself, that she didn’t even hear the 141 Taskforce arrive, who witnessed her still body, standing in front of lifeless people. Her hands shook softly, as they clutched onto the gun tighter by every passing second. Price could see what was going on with Grenade, he could tell that the image she was staring at, was beginning to portrait itself into her mind, drawing  every detail more haunting than it looks, creating a sense of guilt and sadness that painted the picture black and red, no white or any other color could ever be found. To stop the artistic works of death himself, Price approached Grenade and carefully placed a warm hand on her shoulder as he shook her away from her own thoughts with simple words,

 “I’m sorry lass.”

 Price knew that this rescue mission meant a lot to Grenade, she had been working on it for weeks turned into months, wanting to find the traffickers and trailer that was being used to traffic and harm people. Grenade had flinched at both his words and small hand gesture, but was instantly calmed to hear that it was his voice, trying to comfort her. She appreciated Price, he had been welcoming sense the start, and was the only one willing to take her in. Grenade shook her head slowly as she put forth in a low whisper,

  “I swear I’m not crazy... but I know I heard a voice calling for help.”

Ghost huffed to himself, as he took in Grenade’s words and appearance with utter disgrace, thinking that she was probably going to be one of the mushy and useless ones. He then squared his shoulders and replied in his thickened accent meanly, wanting Grenade to snap out of her self-pity party,

  “Maybe you are bloody crazy. It’s pretty fuckin’ clear they are all dead-“

  Spinning around to disagree with who she thought would be a regular soldier, was stunned for a moment as she took in Ghost’s intimidating mask and height, her heart skipped a beat with fear. After being buried with real skulls for 48 hours because of a kidnapping, it left her absolutely terrified of them. She could right away feel the power and dominance he held. But nonetheless, Grenade tried to maintain her calm and addressed back with a stern tone, wanting to appear not afraid of him,

  “I’m not. I heard someone say-“

-CLICK!

All of the 141 Taskforce’s shoulders instantly tensed as it grew silent immediately, they all knew that sound, by engraved memory ... and their minds registered to them in that moment, that a bomb had just been ticked. Grenade who was closest to the bomb inside the trailer, pushed away Price from her as she jumped to grab the door and pull it down to shut it..

 BOOM!!!

  But the bomb was too quick and sent them all flying, including her before she could even try to close the door. The adrenaline they had from the unexpected catastrophe got them to their feet immediately, grunting in pain through the process. Price was the first to call out as he stood to his feet,

  “EVERYONE ALRIGHT?!?”

Ghost was the second to stand, and he quickly went for Soap who struggled a little more to stand, but as he picked him up to stand, he saw  a group of armored men come towards them rapidly, raising their weapons to fire at them. Ghost held Soap up with one arm and used his free hand to reach for his gun, but he realized he had lost it during the explosion when he didn’t see it there.

  “FUCK!!-“

 “I GOT YOU COVERED! GO!!”

That was Grenade’s voice, that screamed over the rainfall of bullets, she slid on her knees and came to a stand in front of Ghost as she began to shoot at the incoming men, taking each one down effortlessly. Ghost stood stunned for a second, taking in the unexpected sight in front of him, but Soap poked him out of his thoughts as he grunted loudly,

  “We need to get out of here LT.! We don’t know how much more are coming our way! We were ambushed!”

 Ghost shook his head no as he saw Gaz running towards them, he let go of Soap as he ordered him, 

  “No, you go with Gaz!! I’ll stay with this one!!”

Soap was confused for a moment, but he knew that Ghost would protect what was Price’s, even if he didn’t like them. Soap nodded quickly as he shouted,

  “I’m going to find the rest!! Meet us at our place!! Stay alive eh?!”

Ghost could see the worry in Soap’s eyes, but he didn’t have time to comfort the way he wanted to, but instead he called him by his actual name, knowing that Soap knew it was Ghost’s way of reassurance,

  “I will Johnny! GO!!”

Soap nodded then left and ran with Gaz to find the rest. The gunfire suddenly stopped, making Ghost look back at Grenade, who still stood up, while the enemies were lifeless in the distance. He searched for his gun on the floor and found it a few feet away from him. Picking it up he walked to stand next to Grenade, who was reloading her weapon at the moment, but quickly though, Grenade was impressively fast at it, and that didn’t go unnoticed by Ghost. She had taken them all out successfully, and now looked around vigilantly. Ghost stood in the same position as he looked the opposite way she was, waiting for anyone else who could be coming at them. Back to back they ended up, with their weapons held high and ready. Ghost didn’t see anyone coming his way, and when he was about to inform Grenade, she called out to him in a calm voice,

  “And we got more company... fuck.”

Ghost turned around and saw how an outnumbered amount of men were coming towards them. Though he secretly admired the way Grenade stayed put and ready to take them all out with her single weapon, Ghost knew it be impossible after a few rounds, there were to many men who would soon kill them. He saw the maze of trailers that stood next to them, and put his plan to work almost instantly when he grabbed Grenades upper arm dragging her behind him as he began to run off with her. She tried to take his hands off of her as she shouted,

  “W-What are you doing???!-“

Ghost held on to her painfully tighter as he said back,

  “There’s too many!! We’re fuckin outnumbered!!”

Grenade tired to keep up with Ghost’s long legs that took long strides as they ran away, what helped her keep up was the fact that she was practically being dragged by him. Soon they heard bullets flying around them along with frightening shouts, hence making them run faster in between the trailers. Grenade turned back as saw how close they were getting to them, with all her might she yanked her arm out of Ghost’s grasp and grabbed her large rifle from her back, and began to shoot at the men that were trailing behind them closely, missing some others no. Ghost stopped in his tracks the minute her arm left his hand, but he didn’t stop her when she began to shoot, until she ran out of bullets. She screamed in frustration when she found out she had no more bullets on her,

  “FUCK I’M OUT!!-“

Ghost growled in annoyance as he grabbed her arm again, this time even tighter making Grenade yelp in the sudden harsh grasp, but he ignored her pleas as he yelled back,

 “I BLOODY TOLD YA IT WOULDN’T BE ENOUGH!!”

  Soon they ran out of the trailer lot, and up ahead saw the forest of tall, evergreen trees. Grenade pointed towards them as she suggested quickly,

  “Let’s head for the forest! We might find a good place to hide there.”

  Ghost rolled his eyes but nonetheless knew it was probably best, so before they could be seen by the armored men, they ran for it. The thickness of the trees and the darkness that began to cover the skies, helped them blend in and hide well in their dark colored attire. All that could be heard around them was a broken branch here and there, howls of the midnight wolves that cried to the shining moon, as well as the panting breaths of Ghost and Grenade who continued to run deeper into the enclosing forest. 

 They ran for a few more minutes before Ghost hauled them to a stop with his hand raising up in a fist, signaling Grenade to stop running. Grenade took deep breaths as she leaned her hands on her knees, trying to get her mind off of the thoughts that ran through her head. A heavy weight of guilt began to sit in her stomach, as she blamed herself for not being able to rescue the victims on time. She was a part of them, kidnapped along with them, but was separated one day, which she took advantage of and was able to be found after escaping. Grenade promised those she was with that she’d find them and rescue them, but now there was no one to save, they had all been killed. Tears burned in the back of her eyes, and a stone of pain grew hard to swallow as Grenade tried to breathe. Ghost had wanted to start walking again, see if they could find their team, but he saw how Grenade wasn’t moving at all, still hunched over trying to gain composure. Ghost wasn’t a man of feelings or sensitivity, people even doubted if he had a heart, so he didn’t think he was being mean or heartless as he groaned,

  “Stand up Officer, we need to move.”

Grenade waved her hand sighing,

  “Just give me a minute please.”

Huffing in annoyance once again Ghost disapproved,

  “I don’t think so, either you start fucking moving or I’ll leave ya ass here.”

 Grenade grew irritated by his demeanor towards her and could only muster out,

 “Then go.”

Ghost definitely didn’t expect her to want him to leave her alone, he thought his words would get her moving on his command, but instead she stood in place. Ghost looked around and saw how the darkness began to swallow what was left of the light from the sunset, and knew it would get colder and harder to seek for their destination and team. So he then sauntered over to Grenade grabbed her by the strap on her vest and pulled her to stand straight as he pierced her heart with his words,

  “I don’t care who you are or how you fucking feel, if I say let’s go you move. Is that fucking clear for you soldier?”

 Hearing those words from him was what broke the dam of tears for Grenade, freely they began to pour out as his intimidating stance and hurting words scared her, and that only made Ghost more irritated and almost angry. He pulled her closer to his face as he seethed,

  “The day you signed up for this you should’ve known that this would happen, so don’t pour tears... don’t cry. Expect it, and live with it when it comes and pays.”

Grenade didn’t realized that Ghost held her feet high above ground until he let her go and she fell on her bottom. She winced a little but was quick to stand when she saw how he had begun to walk away, putting quite a distance between them. Keeping her eyes on him she ran without watching her steps, which caused her to trip over a few rocks and thick tree roots here and there, but nonetheless she kept up. Ghost kept his fast strides up on purpose, to give Grenade a run for her life, but he kept an ear out for her anyways, hearing for her footsteps that followed after him quickly, maybe Ghost was an ass but he didn’t dare leave a his team behind, even if he thought he hated them. But suddenly he heard a gasp leave her lips loudly and her footsteps came to a stop, he kept walking thinking that maybe she was taking a quick second to breathe, but when he didn’t hear her footsteps continue, he stopped in his tracks. Holding onto the thin thread of patience that was wearing out, Ghost turned around growling,

  “I swear if you don’t move I’ll beat your bloody ass- w-where are you?”

 Grenade was no where to be seen, he only saw the trees he had passed in front of him, which made his heart slightly drop as a tick of guilt pricked it.

 ‘Alright letting her be behind me was my fault. Fucking helll.’

 After admitting his fault to himself, Ghost began to walk towards where Grenade was, but paused when he heard her call out in a strained voice,

  “Lieutenant! Hello?! Hey! I-I fell in a pretty deep hole.”

‘Just what I fucking needed... that’s what happens to short people.��

 Ghost could see where she flashed her light, signaling where she was. He walked toward it slowly, letting the pain of falling in there really dig into Grenades skin, yes, he was being pretty heartless and a bully. As he approached it he saw the big hole, and the flickering light, he looked down and got hit in the face with the light, which made him groan,

 “Turn that fucking light off-“

 “Oh sorry!”

The bright light turned off after it stung Ghost’s eyes, and soon his eyes adjusted to the night and he was able to make out Grenade’s face, which only showed fear and worry, and Ghost was proud he had that affect on her. But before he could say anything which geared towards getting her out, he noticed her face change, and turn into pure awe. And he thought she was looking at him like that,

 ‘Why the fuck is she looking at me like that?’

“Why the fucking hell are you looking at me like that?”

 Grenade gave Ghost silence as only her soft breaths were heard, she continued to look up, and her eyes grew bigger and brighter by the second. Ghost grew irritated by not receiving an answer from her when he asked, to which he then barked at her angrily,

  “GRENADE!”

 Grenade violently flinched at his harsh voice that was directed towards her, and when she actually focused her eyes on his mask, she asked in a soft tone,

  “What Ghost?”

Scoffing loudly Ghost scolded,

 “What Ghost? Fuck... when I ask something of you, you fucking reply!!! Give me your hand!”

Grenade was about to apologize to him but she bit it back, preferring to stay quiet and not anger him more. So she extended her hands to which he grabbed by the wrist instead, and yanked her out of the hole, sending her out of it onto the ground on her stomach. A loud ‘Oof’ left her lips, (for he had kinda thrown her a little harshly onto the ground on purpose, trying to make her see that he wasn’t up for games and bullshit.) But to his surprise, Grenade wasn’t fazed at all by his actions, she instead quickly stood onto her feet and looked up, again, as she explained,

  “I wasn’t looking at you Lt.”

Ghost never looked at her as he fixed his sleeves questioning with a stern tone,

  “What?”

 “When I was in the hole looking up... I wasn’t looking at you-“

 Ghost turned his cold eyes towards her and saw how she was still looking up, making him grow even more irritated,

 “Then what?!”

Grenade walked closer to him, and pointed at the sky with her hand as she said simply,

 “Look up Lt... just look.”

Ghost stayed still, refusing to look up, and continued to eye down Grenade, and for that moment, he actually began to see her. The color of her hair, and it’s delicacy, even when it was everywhere put in place at the same time. Her skin texture that indeed looked better than his, though she had a small scar on her lower lip and cheek and dark bags under her eyes, including a new wound and bruise on her cheek and chin from the explosion earlier. The way she was dressed, it was different, most women he had encountered in his line of work, wore tight, tactical clothing, while Grenade, wore the loosest ones. While taking in her body structure and clothing, he didn’t realize that she had been crying softly, until the most quiet sniffle escape her lips. Ghost’s eyes snapped to her face, and saw a single tear rolling down her cheek, but that’s not what had caught most of his attention, it was what was beaming off of it, a green-bluish light it seemed? He began to see the color turn brighter as it illuminated her skin, which made him turn his eyes to finally look up. And for once after a really really long time, Ghost felt something turn in his chest, like adoration. And for the first time in his entire life, he witnessed one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful creations, the Northern Lights. He let his head hung back to see the whole sky that was covered in light, gleaming wonderfully, it was celestial, unreal, so full of color and life. Curtains of beautiful colors in different shades of turquoise draped over the sky in ecstasy, glorifying itself as the darkness that surrounded it was long forgotten.  

 Grenades voice flowed smoothly as she said in a whispered voice,

 “I never thought I’d see this... it’s one of my million wishes.. one finally got checked off.”

 Ghost’s eyes left the sky for a moment as he looked at Grenade’s face, which was covered in more tears as they continued to fall. Ghost today had seen Grenade, whom he had underestimated at first, thinking she’d be in the way of combat, when she actually stood in front of it ready to take it down. She was known as a cold killer and a fighter, resilient towards anything that came her way, never looked away from her work when she destroyed the bad guys, and never let a tear shed for them. But at the sight of the Northern Lights, she was a teary mess, staring at it with her jaw slacked opened in surprise and awe. Ghost looked down to stare at his boots, but he caught the sight of her hands, shaking and covered in dried blood, making him think for a second, that at the end of the day, no matter who they were and who they killed, they were still human, and had hearts, hearts that could hurt and cry, be joyful and love. His eyes flicked away from them when she lifted a hand and wiped her tears away, sniffing as she put forth,

 “No matter how much death I see everyday, I try to make an effort to look at what’s breathing and alive, to wipe the memories away. And this.. is perfect.”

 Ghost looked back at Grenade’s face, which was already faced towards him as she was looking at him with sincerity in her eyes, sending her warm and inviting gaze towards him, she never looked at his mask, but kept her eyes burning into his blue ones. Ghost felt sunken and taken aback, not taking into thought how much of an affect Grenade was having on him, how much her good heart was awakening his stoned one. He then looked at his feet, and suddenly felt bad for treating her the way he did, so harshly and unforgivingly. Shifting his feet in the ground to sway a little side to side, he tried to ignore the way he was beginning to feel a little warm in his chest. Grenade began to shiver a bit, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to keep warm from the cold, and that’s when Ghost thought it was the best time to show he was sorry. Ghost wasn’t a man of words, he wouldn’t verbally say he was sorry or that he liked something, instead he let his body language speak for him. Shrugging off his large jacket, he quickly placed it over Grenades shoulders, tugging it on so it wouldn’t slip off. Grenade was caught off guard by his sudden change in behavior, but right away grasped onto the jacket and sighed in appreciation as it’s warmth began to seep into her, she didn’t let a second pass before she said,

  “Thank you LT.”

Ghost smiled a little under his mask, and put forth in a calm tone,

  “No problem lass, Do you know my name?”

Grenade looked away from the sky as she took in his sudden question, a question she knew the answer to, so she replied,

  “Yes, you’re LT Simon Riley, but they call you Ghost for a classified reason, hence why you wear a scary mask.”

 Huffing a short laugh Ghost questioned,

 “Scary? That’s a first.”

Shrugging her shoulders Grenade explained shyly,

  “Well, when you’re kidnapped and buried alive with real skulls, it does change your approach to them. Or the way you look at them.”

 Ghost arched a brow as his heart pinched a little her confession, he began to feel more intrigued by Grenade, which is why he went on asking,

  “And what’s your thoughts on skulls now?”

 “Death LT, death... I really thought I was going to die. Shepherd knew where I was all along, yet he left me there to die. That was until Laswell put a team together to find me, which is when I met Captain Price.”

  Searching for her face to read her expression as Grenade told her story, was the most heart breaking thing Ghost could’ve done, cause all he could read was fear. Ghost kept his eyes on her as he went on with the questions,

  “How recent was this, lass?”

“2 weeks ago... it’s pretty recent.”

Ghost shook his head approvingly before looking around to check the area around them, it was pitch black by now, for the Northern Lights had disappeared already, only the moonlight scarcely shone upon them. Thinking to himself for a moment, he made up his mind, Ghost’s heart trusted Grenade for an unknown reason, but it was a chance he was willing to take. After slipping off his skull mask and skull balaclava, Ghost then slowly started walking up to her. Grenade caught that he was moving, but she didn’t spare him a glance, but Ghost didn’t want her  looking away from him as he commanded,

  “Look at me, Officer.”

“LT-“

  “Officer. I’m not going to ask again.”

Grenade swallowed her fear of skulls as she chose to look up at him, but she was met with the most adorning, scarred face. 

Her jaw dropped as she gasped softly,

  “Ghost I thought you never-“

“Shhhhhh...”

Ghost had placed his large hand over her mouth, refusing to hear her words about him hiding his identity. She silenced herself, and took in his appearance with wide eyes. His perfect nose that look a little crooked at the top, maybe from being broken and readjusted at the same time. His gleaming colored eyes, that looked both beautiful but mysterious. The little scars that were here and there, like tattoos of hidden stories. His lips, his lips were pink from the cold, but they still look kissable. Grenade was shaken out of her thoughts when Ghost grabbed her chin with his gloved fingers,  and began to say in a low but comforting tone while looking straight into her eyes with a hint of compassion,

  “Everyday, you and I are going to work together, and worthwhile.. I’ll wear my mask and balaclava. I’ll teach you how to overcome your fear of skulls, for I always wear it no matter who I am with. And also because I know you can overcome your fear lass, you’re a tough one.”

 Grenade nodded at his words, and could only muster out,

 “Thank you, for this and for willing to help me, Price hasn’t been able to find anyone suitable... to help me out.”

Ghost smiled softly and tugged Grenades wrist as they began to walk away,

  “Well now you have me.”

She smiled at him shyly while looking at his scars, but she wasn’t disgusted by them, no.. it was like she admired them, and Ghost saw that, and could only appreciate her more. Which earned Grenade the sweetest words that ever came out of Ghost,

  “You can touch them..”

Grenade looked into his eyes hesitantly, but couldn’t think twice about it when Ghost went ahead and grabbed her hand, planted it on his cheek, nearest the largest scar. He dropped his hand and waited for her to begin to move. Grenade then carefully ran her fingers through them and memorized its texture and interesting shapes, only admiring how he could survive every fight he went through to get those scars. Once she was satisfied with herself, Grenade dropped her hand as she complimented him innocently,

  “You have a very unique face Ghost...”

Ghost sent her a small smile of pride, for he knew he look good, even with his scars, it gave him an extra touch to every beautiful feature he already had, he was just afraid someone else didn’t like them, but he was able to see that Grenade did. 

 He sent her a nod as he appreciated her words, 

  “Thank you little one..”

Rolling her eyes playfully Grenade trudged behind him as he began to walk,

  “Don’t call me little one, that’s why I have the name, Grenade.”

 Ghost stopped in his tracks and turned around before smirking tauntingly,

  “Why, because you’re small but effective?”

  Smiling proudly Grenade confirmed,

  “Yes sir.”

Ghost sighed as he began to walk again pulling her to stand next to him,

“Fucking hell....”

 “What?!”

“Nothing lass... later on you’ll have to tell me how you actually got your name, there’s always a story behind it.”

Grenade tugged on his sleeve before asking,

  “Will you tell me yours?”

Keeping his face straight ahead, taking into note how Grenade kept looking at his face especially his lips and eyes as they walked, Ghost nodded,

  “Sure lass, maybe one day that could be your bedtime story.”

 Bumping into his shoulder playfully Grenade added,

  “Thanks-“

“LT??!”

When Grenade heard the unfamiliar voice she stepped behind Ghost and kicked his knees so they’d buckle and he’d fall onto them. He let out a gasp at her actions but once again stayed put as she stood in front of him protectively she looked around carefully. Soon she saw a couple of figures walk up to them with light and drawn guns, but before she could do anything Ghost grabbed her hip firmly as he said with a small beat of cheer,

  “That’s Johnny! And that’s Roach, they’re safe. It’s ok.”

 “Oh.. ok come on.”

When Grenade turned around to help Ghost up, he already had his balaclava on with his skull mask, making her take a step back while holding in a gasp. But she let out a breath when her mind quickly registered that it was Simon behind the mask, and nothing else.. she was safe and could trust him. Ghost being his observant self had noticed her reaction immediately, but he only approached her, grabbed her hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze while saying,

“It’s just me, remember?”

With a sigh she replied,

 “Yes... I remember. I just wish I didn’t get scared every time.”

 He nodded understandably,

 “I know... but if you ever go through a tough time with it, I’ll take it off until you’re ready for me to put it back on.”

Grenade nodded with appreciation as he then added to make Grenade feel better,

 “If you can overcome your fear... you can have this one, I promise. I have replaceable ones.”

 Her eyes brightened as she raised her brows,

  “Really? But it’s special to you no?”

Shrugging softly he replied,

 “It is, but you overcoming your fear... would be even more special.”

Once Soap and Roach got closer to them Ghost went back to his stern self, but still sounded calm as he spoke to Soap,

  “Good to see ya boys, is our safe place near here?”

  “It is. Come on, Price and Alejandro started a fire and Gaz started dinner.”

 Roach looked behind Ghost’s large body build and could barely make out Grenade who stood behind him quietly, but she looked calm and comfortable. He sent Ghost a questioning look, as he nodded his head towards her. But Ghost shook his head approvingly as he turned around and grabbed Grenade by the shoulder gently and pulled her next to him as he said the words that made Soap and Roach believe that indeed Grenade was someone to trust, for if Ghost, who was a hard man and had trust issues, could trust her, so could they.

  “Boys this is Grenade, a brave one I tell ya... Price and Grenade will tell the rest once we get there. But I like this one.”

[writingsfromhome]

Impossibly Real II

Y’all loved Part 1 and honestly were so sweet about it. I had to wrap up their story in return 💗

——————————————————

Harry knocks on my door and I open it before he's even done. I was excited for this date, I really think this was going to be a good one.

That didn’t stop me, however, from having mad jitters while getting ready. In the end I settled on wearing a silky pink skirt and with a fuzzy pastel pink sweater that was my favourite go-to. I paired it with white boots (still heeled) and some gold accessories. I was feeling myself.

As soon as Harry sees me in the doorway he takes a step back. “Wow. You look…stunning.”

I feel my cheeks heat, unused to this kind of attention from Harry. And I could tell he meant it—it wasn’t just a cheap compliment to get in my pants. I try not to show my internal squirming. “Thank you. You look very handsome!”

“Ah,” he waves the compliment away. “You see me wear this sort of thing to work all the time.”

“I know but you shaved,” I reach out to touch his face and then think better of it. We hadn’t even gone further than my door yet.

“I did,” he rubs his face like I wanted to.

“I like the smell of your aftershave,” I say as we get onto the lift and the smell bounces off the four walls.

He leans all the way down so that his neck is beside my face. I giggle—god, I actually giggle. I feel an overwhelming desire to rub my nose against the heat of his skin but I keep my freak hidden and fake an exaggerated whiff instead.

“C’mon,” Harry holds his hand out and we head out to the tube, my hand securely wrapped in his; I feel giddy just holding his hand.

This was going to be the best date ever.

I mean, it was still weird going on a date with my neighbour. For one, he had to only close the door to his home, turn around, and knock on my door to pick me up. For another, I'd seen Harry a million times since I moved in last year and not once did I ever think we would be doing this.

Harry and I talk all the way to the place about a new Netflix show we were both watching. It's light conversation, we don't acknowledge the fact that we're actually doing a proper date. That we were both mega into each other. It's almost like we were simply traveling into work and casually chatting 'til we reached our destination.

The restaurant—Harry’s pick, is tucked onto a street corner near Soho, the window shades are blackened except for a fancy script. Island X.

“I’ve never heard of the place.”

“It just opened a couple months ago,” Harry holds the door open for me; who said chivalry was dead.

“Wow,” I marvel at the interiors. It’s like someone took the Great Gatsby and worked it with wood tones and orange lighting. And monstera plants.

“That’s a lot of monsteras.”

“What?” Harry asks.

“Monsteras?” I wave my hand at all the ginormous planters but Harry’s attention is to the front of the line.

“Monsteras?” He asks, eyes still forward. “Like. The Lil Nas x song?”

“What?” I crinkle my brow. But then it clicks and I can’t help but laugh. “Oh my god you think I’m talking about-“

“Hiya!” The hostess interrupts me and I cover my mouth.

“Are you laughing at me?” Harry whispers as we follow to our table.

“Yes,” I wipe my tears as we’re lead to a cozy corner. I’m even tucked into my seat!

“Wow I’ve never been to someplace as fancy as this?”

“Really?” Harry’s face flits with a microsecond of an emotion I can’t read. “I thought maybe this was your scene.”

“Oh no,” I shake my head. “This is very fancy. I’m kinda low brow.”

“Oh,” his eyebrows knit together and he fiddles with his napkin. “Some woman at work suggested it.”

“Oh who?” I ask. Harry’s spoken to me about work before, I thought maybe it was a coworker I knew.

“Just someone that works on the same floor.” He pulls his glass of water close to him. “She’s just a friend.”

“Oh I didn’t mean it like…” I trail off. Why would he think I was being jealous?

Suddenly the awkwardness of the situation washes over me. I was on a date. With my neighbour. If this didn't end well we were screwed. I would lose my only friend in the entire neighbourhood! It would be painful to live next door to each other! At least until one of us found a partner or one of us moved out of the complex.

The pressure of it all makes my ears ring.

“Right,” Harry clears his throat as the waiter approaches and starts to scan the wines. “Any of the wines look good to you?”

I stare at Harry while he buries his nose in the menu. Somehow I felt like I already messed up. Maybe all of these bad dates had one thing in common: me.

God, I couldn’t even make it work with a friend.

Harry glances up. I guess I forgot to respond. Before he could notice I’d been too busy staring I start to scan the menu.

“D’you mind red?” I ask.

“Sure. Which red do you recommend?” Harry asks the waiter. I think it’s cute he asks. Dates in the past have pretended to know the difference between all the names and then ordered something that usually tasted like dog shite.

They discuss the wine and I pretend to nod here and there while I browse the dinner menu. Obviously I had studied it after getting dressed tonight. I knew what was safe for me to get (pasta or seafood) and what would cause a big mess (burgers).

“I’m gonna guess what you’ll order.” Harry says once we’re alone again.

“You really think you know me well enough?”

“Yeah. I think I know you well enough.”

“I don’t think so.” He might have a lucky guess but we hadn’t eaten out together enough for him to know my taste. Plus what I wanted and what I was going to order tonight would be two different things.

“I bet you I know. I’m so confident I’m not even going to say it right now. I’ll just order for you when the waiter comes back.”

“Are we confident or cocky?” I tease.

“Confident,” he says but he drapes his arms back against his chair and relaxes, giving an f-boy cocky pose. I laugh, grateful for the reprieve of living in my thoughts.

“Ready to order?” The waiter asks after pouring our wine. It was a nice balanced wine that was helping me relax.

Harry orders his meal and then looks up at me, “She’ll get the Organic Highland Prime Burg-“

“Actually,” I cut him off. Harry looks at me with his sure smile but I shake my head. It falls immediately.

I feel bad but I just couldn’t eat a burger at a fancy place like this on a first date. I’d done it before and it had not gone over well. Think White Chicks but instead of a Terry Crews it was a Ben Shapiro.

“Sorry,” I point to the safe item. “I’ll do the Blackened Lobster Lasagna.”

“Great choice.” The waiter says something else but I’m too preoccupied with how much worse I was making the date.

“Really?” Harry asks. The waiter pauses as he looks between Harry and I and I start to flush.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” It comes out more curt than I intended and Harry just nods.

“Sorry.” I apologize to Harry again once the waiter leaves. “I didn’t really want something messy.”

“Oh. Yeah it’s alright.” He smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. "The lasagna does sound really good.”

“Right? I think it'll be really good.” I hear myself talking and want to stab myself. Really. Because this king of small talk was what I fell back on talking about when a date was going bad.

I had to redeem this. This couldn’t be a bad date. This was just Harry.

“This wine’s good too,” Harry says as he puts his glass down on the edge just as I yank my foot out from under the table to show him my shoes, yanking the table cloth in the process.

“So my shoes-“

“Shit!”

His wine tips over onto my white boots and we stare at them as the stain spreads.

“Napkin-“ Harry’s voice snaps me out of the spiral I’d found myself in as I watched wine seep into my coveted shoes.

Harry’s leaning over patting it down but I yank my foot away. This was incredibly embarrassing; everyone around us was watching the scene we were making.

“We need water-“

“I’m going to the toilet,” I announce. Harry looks up sharply, his face is panicked.

“I’m sorry yn I-“

“S’cuse,” I don’t mean to brush him away but with all the eyes on me and the fact that I kept finding ways to ruin this date—this date that was supposed to be perfect, my eyes were pricking with tears. I needed a breather.

“Shite,” I sigh as I balance on one foot in the toilets and try to wipe the stain in the sink. But red wine stained badly just like my performance on every date I’ve ever been on.

“Get yourself together,” I say to myself in the mirror. “Harry is amazing and you’re fucking all this up! Shoes are temporary, finding a good man can take forever! Snap! Out! Of! It!”

I do some deep breaths and one last attempt at cleaning my shoe before I make my way out.

“Yn I’m so sorry,” Harry stands as I return. “I’m so clumsy tonight I didn’t mean to-“

“Harry it’s fine,” I put my hand on his arm. “Honestly.”

“The stain didn’t come out!” He notices the shoes. “I’ll replace them—send me a bill or…”

I don’t have the heart to tell them he couldn’t replace my £400 Acne boots that easily. I’d bought them a couple seasons ago to celebrate the fact that I’d finally gone out with a guy, and hadn’t thought about my ex once. They were I’m-officially-over-my-ex boots.

Now that I thought about it though, it was stupid to wear them on a date with Harry. They were soaked in the bad luck of all the dates they’d been on since.

Agh!

“I’m serious Har,” I cut him off from his plans to replace them. I take a deep breath and motion he should do the same. “Look, it’s really fine. Plus they’re my favourite colour now. They’ll go with the rest of my wardrobe.”

He stops apologizing and looks down at the splotch of pink on the white. “In that case. We’ll have to take the bottle home and stain the other one.”

“Deal,” I say and he smiles at me softly and it feels like things might go better now. Maybe we really had a chance.

When our food arrives Harry’s steak isn’t done how he asked, and they take it back. I awkwardly push around the food on my plate, not wanting to eat until he had his food too.

“You can eat,” Harry reminds me. “I’m sure it’ll be out any minute.”

“We can share for no-“

“Just eat,” Harry says but now all the focus is on me eating and I feel tense and awkward and quite frankly, frustrated.

I shouldn’t have piled so much hope on this date going perfectly.

We wave the waiter over when too much time has passed by, and he seems confused about the steak.

“D’you think they forgot?” I ask Harry.

“Maybe,” he looks frustrated, two spots of pink have taken residence on his cheeks. I feel bad. This date wasn’t turning out for both of us.

It takes another 10 minutes for his plate to come back out. By then my plate looks like I hated it but tried to eat it to be polite. Harry tries to ask if it can be heated but I’m way too non-confrontational in restaurants to let that happen so I shovel a mouthful of room temperature food and give the waiter a thumbs up.

I just wanted to go home.

By the time Harry pays the bill (it was expensive, even though we agreed to skip dessert. He insisted on paying) I was ready to call an uber to whiz us home. But he suggests we walk off the food to another station and it sounds like a good idea so I follow along. Maybe now we could have a nice time.

The walk was supposed to help clear our heads and be romantic but somehow the mood had soured beyond repair. We don’t talk the whole time, both of us lost in our own heads. Neither of us holds hands, or even loop arms.

And somehow it gets worse when we arrive at my door.

"Well this is me," Harry points to his door beside mine in an attempt at a joke. I throw a polite smile.

"Thanks for the date," I say. I feel like it's a little curt but I didn't really know how to act. Did we hug? Shake hands? We liked each other but clearly this date was proving we didn't belong together. Kissing each other goodnight felt like the opposite direction of tonight's vibe.

"No, thank you. And sorry. Again." Harry looks embarrassed as he glances down at my shoes.

"Harry, honestly it's okay," I try to reassure him. I would take walking ten miles in heels I had yet to break in than this awkward air that stifled us. It was never supposed to be like this!

"No it's not," Harry huffs. "I ruined your shoes."

"They're shoes. Just shoes."

"It's a first date, I don't want you thinking I'm a clumsy mess."

"Harry," I lean my back against my door. He looked so good tonight, I was so excited when I opened my door to him a few hours ago and everything had gone tits up. I didn't want him to feel this way. It was my fault, not his.

"I just," he rubs his face and then sighs.

"It wasn't that bad," I lie. The night had gone so badly.

"Yes it is!" He throws his hands up and the movement makes me flinch. "Fuck. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. God, everything's just..."

I blink and my eyes start to sting. It was the end of the night and we'd officially decided this wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't a shock, but still it was upsetting. I really liked him. I really thought things would work out between us, especially after that night with my heels in his bathroom. I had to call it.

"I should go in. I'll see you later Harry."

His brows scrunch up, he opens his mouth and then closes it. "G'night yn."

"G'night." I whisper. He stays there like he always does as I go into my flat. I peek through the peephole and catch him mouth a fuck before opening his own door.

Still in my outfit, my shoes kicked off to the side, I start to pace. I can't do anything except go over the date in my head.

Was there a particular moment I fucked up? Should I have said something differently? How did Harry and I go from having amazing chemistry and an honest friendship to this?

Maybe I was trying too hard. I should have just ordered the burger like he’d guessed, should have gone along with what he talked about. I should have been a better date.

That was it. I couldn't go to bed like this.

The fact that every time I had a shot at a date, a real chance, something had to go wrong and it was always me. I had to fix this.

I grab the doorknob, and pause. I was about to march right into Harry's flat and ask why the date went so terribly. But what was the point? It would just make things even more awkward.

I think about the last time we hung out. There was beer. Maybe we just need beer—no hundred pound dish or fancy red wine. We just needed to be us. Lowbrow beers and a relaxed environment.

I grab a jacket to throw over my outfit and slip into my Stan Smiths. I head downstairs and in the direction of the local shop for a 6-pack. We would drink beer in our flat and get over this awful date. This couldn't be the last of us.

As I cash out a familiar head of hair in the closest aisle catches my attention.

"Harry?"

"Yn?" He's dressed down in joggers and a jumper.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Grabbing dessert," he shakes the plastic container with donuts inside. "What are you doing here?"

I hold my box up. His eyes widen slightly, a frown touches his lips for a mere second before he arranges his face into a neutral expression.

"All for yourself?" He asks.

"No actually-“ I'm about to launch into what I was going to do but the cashier clears his throat and stares pointedly at Harry. He was holding up the line now.

"Oh sorry," he walks up to the counter and pays for his items. I stand off to the side and we walk out together.

"So you were saying?" He asks.

"Well. I was coming to your place with these."

"You were?" He stops in the middle of the sidewalk to ask.

"Yeah!"

"You're not joking?"

"No!" I laugh. "Why?"

"I..." he looks down at his box and swallows what he was saying. "Let me guess, was it a bad date?"

When he looks at me it's a cheeky look. I almost want to kiss him there.

"Another bad date yep," I tell him and we start to walk towards home.

"Was it the bloke?"

"Not exactly, I think a lot of it had to do with me."

"You sure the date wasn't an arse?"

"No he was sweet. He was very chivalrous, I really thought it was just going to go smoother."

"What do you reckon happened?" He asks. We were both enjoying playing this game. Quite frankly it was combing out the awkwardness.

"I dunno. For one I really wanted a burger but I got in my head and got lasagna instead. When do I ever eat lasagna!?” Harry laughs unexpectedly and it makes me feel good so I continue. “I started thinking about all of my failed dates and almost-relationship. I tried not to make this one date turn out like them but that was my mistake.”

“Sounds like it’s tough being you,” he teases. I push him lightly.

“Well if you could put yourself in our shoes what do you think happened?"

"I think your date got a bit nervous." He responds. By now we've reached our lobby and we take the lift up. "He's not used to going on dates—didn’t he have a steady girlfriend for 3 years? That's 3 years with 0 first dates. He didn’t want to screw things up and he was so in his head about the fact that he took her to an overly fancy place when that wasn’t her scene-“

“It’s not. But it was a cute place. Just poor service.”

“Yeah it was shite service—or I heard it was.” We glance at each other and grin. "I heard he split wine on your shoes."

"Psh," I laugh. “The pink stains were on the outside this time not the inside.”

The lift lands on our floor and we hover outside our doors. "Yours or mine?"

"Mine?" Harry opens his door and I follow the familiar hall to the couch I'd sat on just a week ago. I pull my legs up and we crack open beers, each biting into the sugary pillows he'd bought.

“I actually bought dessert so I could have an excuse to knock on your door and talk to you after that date.” Harry confesses after we’ve each had our moment with our donuts.

I feel warm inside, we’d both wanted an epilogue after the date. We were determined, and ended up in the same place. I hold my drink up. “Cheers.”

Harry tilts his head and smiles. He’s gonna be the death of me whether this works out or not, the thought pops into my head.

"I feel like I need to apologize," Harry continues. "I didn't want to mess things up and I think I just overthought it all and-"

"Please." I cut him off. "I totally made everything awkward and I think I'm just cursed."

"I don't know why I thought you would like such a fancy place. As soon as you said you're not into it I felt like I was doomed-"

"I didn't mind it! I just wasn't expecting it from you!"

"You don't think I'm a classy man?"

I laugh, "Just not that uppity on a first date."

"I was trying to pull out all the stops."

"Instead we just full stopped."

That gets a laugh from Harry. It dies down as he asks, "So what do you reckon? Is this a sign we're only meant to be neighborly friends?"

I bite my donut, mulling his question over. The beer and donuts were helping. I felt like I was thinking clearer than I had all night.

"I wouldn't say no."

We sit in silence as we think about it until he moves down the couch and rests his knee against mine.

"I really like you.”

"I like you too," I agree with my heart quickening.

"Then why don't we stop dating and just do this. No dates. Just hanging out."

"I don't know," I say. "I don't mind being wined and dined occasionally. Don’t you?”

"Okay, how about we just hang out. And when hanging out gets boring we put on our going out clothes and wine and dine each other. Think about it," he says and I nod, agreeing.

“Only if when we put on our going out clothes you keep wearing that aftershave.”

“Deal. And you wear your favourite colour each time.”

“Done.” I grin.

"So you wanna watch a movie or something?" He asks.

“Is that a euphemism?” I tease. He turns his TV on and turns to me with a disappointed look. I try not to laugh.

“No yn get your head out of the gutter. A movie. An actual movie.”

I stick my tongue out. "Can we just not watch anything romantic or sad though?”

"Toy Story it is," Harry puts on the film and we lean back against his couch, cuddled into each other. His fingers play with my hair in slow movements that feel comforting.

I wake up a few hours later, the movie long over. Harry's snoring softly, his arm wrapped around me.

I smile to myself. Even after the disaster of a date we were alright.

I nuzzle myself into the crook of his neck, feeling the musky heat of his skin, and drift back off.

***

A knock wakes me.

I open my eyes slowly and look around the room. I wasn't in my room. I was still on the couch, the cushions had done wonders for my back but my neck was stiff.

Harry was still fast asleep, his lips parted, and his arm thrown across his face. He looked so kissable then.

There was another knock, and Harry's arm slips off his face. He sits up, and the knocking resumes.

"Coming!" He shouts as he runs his hands over his face and hair.

He stands and looks back at me, and smiles. He's still sleepy but he's smiling at me.

"Morning." He says.

"Good morning."

He stays there with a dazed smile until I point behind him.

"Door?"

He nods and makes his way over to answer the door.

"Harry Sty-?" a voice asks.

“Yep,” Harry mumbles something I can’t hear. He’s asked to sign whatever it was.

"Thanks," his voice is rough and he clears it.

Closing the door behind him, he throws whatever package he'd received to the floor and walks over to me. "We fell asleep."

"I guess so. I'm still in last night's clothing." My skirt was now wrinkled and my top was half untucked and ridden up my midriff. "What time is it?"

Harry glances at his watch. "Half past 8."

"Shit! I've got work in half hour!"

"Work from here," Harry leans over me on the couch and offers his simple solution.

"I'll have to shower."

"You live next door. Just do your business and come back with your work things. It'll be like old times."

He's inches closer to me, and I really want to kiss him. It's funny we'd done none of that on our first date but now I want a re-do.

"Okay," I whisper.

"Okay," Harry whispers and he closes the distance and kisses me. It was better than our first kiss.

When I pull away I have a stupid smile on my face.

"Go get ready love," Harry laughs and pushes me off the couch. "You'll be late."

"See you later," I wave and walk out the door, smiling because he’d called me love again. And he hadn’t even hesitated.

Harry was right, it was a lot like the old days. In between work meetings, and Harry's calls, we had a lot of time to spend together. We chatted shit, snuck in some kisses, and talked about work.

We don’t go on a second date, instead we order pizza and watch Toy Story 2 (even though we'd fallen asleep in the first one).

Our days together are fun, and the nights were even more fun.

It was a Wednesday, a week and a half after the disastrous date. Harry and I had taken most of the week off and we'd spent it together, and tonight we'd gone out.

It was a great date, nothing fancy or high brow. Just a lowkey pub with a bunch of beers and greasy messy food and tons of laughter.

"So," Harry says as we're walking hand in hand back to our flat. "How many more days of leave do you have?"

"I have four and a half weeks total."

"Woah. That’s a lot."

"Why? You're not regretting this are you? Getting bored of me?" I tease him.

"I've had 29 years to prepare for you," he teases back.

"That's a good one. But I don't think you can handle 4.5 weeks.”

"Try me."

"Fine," I bump my hip into his.

We're silent for the rest of the walk. But it’s a good silence. When we reach the building, Harry takes his time unlocking his door.

"What are you doing?"

"Just waiting," he shrugs and I laugh.

"Do you want me to stay the night?"

"Yes," he answers without any hesitation; in the last week I'd slept in my bed once.

He opens the door pretty quickly after that and I follow inside—tomorrow, tomorrow I would sleep in mine. Harry could join me if he wanted.

Tonight I watch him close the door, the second the lock clicks I'm taking his jacket off for him and he's laughing at my eagerness.

"Someone's impatient."

"I'm not," I lie and drop his jacket.

"No?" He wraps his arms around me, pulling me flush against him. He kisses my jaw, and then the corner of my lips. You'd think I'd be used to this by now but it's just as dizzying as the times before.

I shake my head and his mouth hovers over mine, his hot breath tickling me.

"What about now?" He whispers.

"Nope," I breathe out and I push onto my tippy toes to kiss him. What can I say, I was denying it with him but I'd never been good at the slow and steady stuff. Harry's mouth was a drug, and I couldn't help myself.

He's not slow and steady either.

He's quick to lift me up and set me on the island in his kitchen, his fingers trailing over the edge of my skirt, his mouth working against mine.

His hand cups my ass and his fingers inch closer to my heat.

"Yn," his voice is soft and he pulls away.

"Yes?"

"Did I tell you how radiant you looked tonight? I can’t take my eyes off of you any time I see you, especially when you’re so loudly and comfortably you in your coordinated outfits and elaborate hairstyles. I feel like the luckiest guy out there. I think I am the luckiest guy in the whole city. I catch sight of you in public and…you just take my breath away."

"Aw Har. I’m already yours. You don't have to butter me up," I tease him as I pull him back to me but his words make me weaker than any kiss could. I know my eyes are growing watery at all of the nice things he’s saying and I’m grateful when he pretends not to see.

This was the nicest thing a guy has said to me, he was really telling me that he liked me for me. He felt lucky. Well I must have won the lottery if he felt lucky.

"I know I don't have," he doesn't pull back again but whispers this into my neck. A shiver runs up my spine. "But I just want to tell you that you're so beautiful."

His mouth trails over my jaw, and back to the corner of my mouth, he doesn't kiss me and I want him to.

"So beautiful," he whispers and I tilt my head back to invite him to continue the trail his lips were making. "So sweet."

He kisses my collar bone and the strap of my top. "So lovely."

His hands trail over my thighs and I want him so badly.

"You're making me melt," I tell him.

"Good thing we're in the kitchen," he hums.

"You're the worst," I giggle and his hands cup my cheeks and he presses his lips against mine. His tongue swipes over my lips and I allow him entry.

We're a tangle of limbs as we kiss and kiss, until I can't breathe. When we move to the bedroom I hardly have time to catch my breath there too.

"Yn," his voice is rough, his hair wild. His body is hot against mine and the way he says my name is enough to make me transcend this dimension.

"I like you. A lot."

"I like you too. A lot too." I can barely get the words out as I try to worm my way into his skin.

He chuckles at my growing impatience but he’s too far in to hold back again. He gives in to every one of my needs--even ones I didn't realize I had.

I'm a goner.

As we fall asleep, his arm wrapped tightly around me, I know we did the right thing. Despite being neighbours or the awful first date. The fact that we bumped into each other at the shop later that night meant we were supposed to have a second chance.

We worked best like this: warm and tucked away, whispering confessions into each other’s skin, seeing each other and not caring what we aren’t.

He pulls me closer in his sleep, sighing into my hair. This felt impossible before but it was so real now. And I think I really won the lottery; I’d dated a million toads before but I think I finally found my prince.

TAGLIST:

@kuntxrgraudunkelbunt @mellamolayla

[theycallmebecca]

Can I request either Ari or Chris jealousy prompt “do you ever ask why I get this way? Maybe it’s because - y’know what, never mind”

Hey nonny! Thanks for this fantastic prompt! I wrote most of this the other day and I had another ending in mind.. but it just wasn't working with me... but oh well.

This Memorial Day weekend, I’m accepting prompts. The information (and links to stories written for it) are in this post.

Title: Secrets of the Heart

Pairing: Ari Levinson x female reader

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: language

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Usage Disclaimer: This work is for fans only. This author does not give permission for it to be shared, spoken of, referred to in any public manner (podcast, tv, online, etc.) that wants to either make a celebrity uncomfortable, mock fan fiction/fandom in any way, or the author themselves. Requests can be made, but it is unlikely the author will change their mind. If no response is given to a request then the answer is a solid no, not interested and the work cannot be shared, spoken of or even referred to, regardless of the manner or context. 

Women love Ari.

Ari loves women.

You love Ari.

Ari loves you like a best friend.

You sigh into your drink as another woman stops Ari on his way back to your table. You avert your eyes, not wanting to see the same routine they all do when they see him in a bar.

She’ll touch his arm.

He’ll flex his biceps.

She’ll giggle and coo over his “big strong muscles”.

He’ll give her a panty melting smile.

She’ll give him her number.

He’ll pocket the number and promise to call her.

She’ll go back to her friends, who will all giggle and steal glances at him.

He’ll come back to your table and drop into his seat like nothing has happened.

“What’s that face about?” he asks, picking up his beer and taking a swig of it.

“Just thinking,” you lie as you adjust your expression. He doesn’t know you’re in love with him and it’s better that way. Afterall, you are the opposite of his type, judging by the women he’s gone out with.

“Sounds serious,” he says, leaning forward. Then, because he doesn’t have a serious bone in his body, adds, “Tell Ari what’s troubling you.”

“I’m on my period and I have cramps,” you say, knowing that will make him uncomfortable. “So I’ve decided to go home.”

He cringes at the womanly stuff, but his expression turns to a frown when you say you’re leaving. “You haven’t finished your beer,” he says.

“I don’t need the calories,” you state as you stand up. “I ordered an Uber so you can stay and -” You motion in the general direction of the woman he was flirting with. “- do whatever.”

You don’t wait for him to respond as you cross the bar as quickly as you can. You have no intention on going straight home, instead, you plan to walk the two blocks to the ice cream parlor where you’ll get your favorite ice cream and eat it while you wait for the Uber to pick you up.

It’s still early in the evening, so you aren’t alone on the street as you walk to your next destination lost in thought. You know breaking ties with Ari would make your life a little easier, but the thought of not having him in your life is more heartbreaking than watching him flirt with nameless women in front of you.

You’re waiting for the light to change around the corner from the ice cream shop when an all to familiar voice says, “I thought you said you ordered an Uber.”

Spinning around, you stare at Ari in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with you,” he counters, pulling you out of the way as another group of people walk past.

One of the women in the group stops and looks at his hand on your arm before looking at you. “Are you ok?” she asks.

Ari smartly let’s go and takes a step back, but you nod and assure the woman that you’re fine.

She glares at him and then takes his picture of the two of you with her phone. “Just in case,” she says then she walks away.

Ari curses under his breath before turning to you. “Why are you acting like this?” he asks, his tone calmer, likely to avoid anyone else stopping.

“Why are you following me?” you counter. “I told you I was leaving so you could go home with that wannabe model.”

Ari lets out a satisfied noise. “And there it is,” he says in a sarcastic tone. “The real reason you left the bar.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you demand.

“You always do this,” he says, throwing his hands up. “It’s Thursday, our night. Yeah, I flirted with her, but I wasn’t going to ditch you for her. I don’t even know her.”

You roll your eyes. Not knowing a woman has never stopped him from taking her home.

“You know what, fine,” Ari says. “Leave. Go home. I’ll see you later.”

“Do you ever ask why I get this way?” you call after his retreating back, the words coming out of your mouth before you can stop them. 

He pauses and turns to look at you, his face unreadable.

“Maybe it’s because -” His eyes roll, obviously expecting another dumb excuse and you get control of your tongue. “- y’know what, never mind, fuck you, Ari Levinson.”

Taking advantage of the green light, you race across the street, embarrassed that you almost spilled your secret to that asshole.

A series of honks makes you turn and you see Ari running across the street, traffic lights be damned.

“Because why, damn it?” he demands once he reaches you. “I fucking need to know.”

“Ari, please, don’t,” you beg softly. “I -”

“Because I can tell you why I go home with those wannabe models,” he says. “Because I can’t be with the one person I want to be with.” He tilts your chin so he can look you in the eye. “You.”

Your heart skips a beat as you stare at him. “What?” Your brain is too stunned to say anything more.

“It’s always been you,” he says. “Just you. Perfect you.”

“But I’m not your type,” you state.

“You are my type,” he argues. “I only date the wannabes because they don’t look like you, don’t act like you… because they aren’t you. If I can’t have you, I don’t want a substitute. For the longest time, I’ve just been your best friend and I accepted that fact. But I want more, I need more. I want you, all of you.”

“You do?”

“I do,” he whispers. “But the question now is, do you?”

“Yes,” you say, on the verge of tears. “Ari, yes, always.”

“Thank fuck,” he says before he pushes you up against the brick wall of the closest building and kisses you, ignoring the cat calls and the ‘get a room’ comments from people passing you on the street.

That first kiss is better than you ever imagined it would be. The second kiss is even better than the first.

Pulling away, Ari rests his forehead against yours and says, “How about we get some ice cream then go back to your place. I think the rest of this conversation would be better in private.”

"Yes," you reply, looking down at your hand that clasped in his. "Ari."

His eyes meet yours in question.

"I love you," you say, needing him to know the full extent of your feelings for him.

"I love you, too," he replies.

[gh0stsp1d3r]

ooh, kang x reader where she's trapped in the quantum realm and he finds her, quickly becoming infatuated with her. she's kinda awkward at first but eventually warms up to him, because he's so loving with her and only her. basically strangers to friends to lovers. pleaseeeee.

OMFG IM SO GLAD THAT OTHER PPL LOVE HIM 😭😭 🫶🏽🫶🏽

Stuck

You have absolutely no clue how you ended up in… where ever this was.

You were stuck here, you learned after a while. Until you met someone, or two people.

“Hello…?” You said, as they both stood in front of you.

“You’re human.” One said.

“Uh, yeah.. I don’t know how I got here or where here exactly is.. do you know a way out?”

They both looked at each other and then back to you.

“Nathaniel.” The man said.

“Janet.” The woman said.

They seemed friendly. And they took you back ti their camp with them.

“You’re in the quantum realm. It’s a place without time or space.” The man explained, in easy terms. You don’t know where Janet went, but it didn’t matter. It had seemed like days you’ve been alone, so you didn’t care.

“So what are you guys working on, exactly?”

“We’re working on a way to escape the quantum realm. We’ve been here for a while now.”

———————————-

While Janet and Nathaniel worked, you took a small break. You sat and watched what looked like the sky. It was beautiful, you would admit. You’ve been here for what you assumed was weeks.

You heard someone coming up next to you and you turned your head. It was Nathaniel.

“Hi.” You said, and turned your head back.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” He said after a while of silence.

“Yeah. Sometimes.. I don’t know. I just feel like sometimes I don’t wanna go back, Y’Know? Like no one’s waiting for me back there. And here at least I have…” you looked at the ground now.

“You know you can tell me anything.” He said, he brought his hand to your chin and directed your gaze to him.

He knew that you were destined to be together, all of his versions had fallen in love with you. No matter what you looked like or how you acted, no matter how different or how similar each version of you was, no matter if you were dead or alive, they all fell in love with you.

And he couldn’t help but feel the same way. He just hoped that you would understand eventually too, that you both were meant to be together.

“At least here I have you.”

He smiled, and he glanced back. Janet was not looking or paying attention to you guys.

You both leaned in for a slow, and passionate kiss.

———————————

And when Janet betrayed him, and set the place and plans to ruin, he protected you like it was the last thing he’d do. He covered your entire body as you both went flying back.

You didn’t leave him when Janet said he wasn’t who he said he was. You stayed next to him the whole time.

You were really the one meant for him.

If he wasn’t in his weakest form, if he hadn’t just been banished maybe things would have been different and he could have protected you better.

You were still alive, thankfully. You looked up at him and he stroked your hair.

“Don’t worry, love, we will find another way out.”

[illuminatedquill]

Ghost Stories #01

Feat. Sabine Wren & Hera Syndulla

Story Context: Sabine tells Hera about her decision to be trained as a Jedi and is met with a cold reception.

"You're going to do what?" asked Hera, her voice almost a shout at the end.

Sabine blinked, taken aback at the Twi'lek's response. It was certainly not the one she had been expecting. They were sitting in the Ghost's communal area; outside, the constant buzz of machinery and maintenance tools from the ship crew could be heard as the old freighter underwent some much-needed repairs.

Feeling uneasy, Sabine leaned back in her seat and folded her arms. "I thought you'd be supportive," she said.

Hera massaged at her temples, grimacing. "And why would you think I'd be supportive of you being a Jedi?"

Feeling defensive, Sabine countered, "You were supportive when Ezra did it. And Kanan, too, when he decided to take up that mantle again. What makes me so different?"

"That was then. This is now," Hera replied. "This is not a good idea, Sabine."

Sabine narrowed her eyes at Hera. "Ahsoka seems to think so. You know, the actual Jedi."

"Former Jedi," Hera corrected. "And believe it or not, Ahsoka thinking so doesn't make me more convinced."

"What, you have an issue with her, too? You guys always seemed friendly to me."

"That was before Malachor," Hera shot back. "Where has she been all this time during the war? She hasn't said anything to anyone. She's different now. Less . . . I don't know, just less of herself, it seems."

Sabine couldn't argue with that. Talking with her master sometimes felt like trying to conversate with a rock. Whatever happened at that Sith Temple seemed to have robbed Ahsoka of her spirit; she seemed listless on some days, adrift from herself and others.

Desperately casting around for a change of subject, Sabine asked, "Where's Jacen?"

"With his grandfather on Ryloth," said Hera. "Don't try to change the subject, Sabine."

"Fine," Sabine snapped. "I don't understand why you're so hostile about this. It's my decision. I'm an adult. What are you going to do when Jacen starts showing an interest, huh?"

"I don't know!" Hera shouted, throwing her hands up. "I'm not - I'm not strong enough, okay?"

Sabine cocked her head at her friend. "What do you mean, 'not strong enough'?"

Hera hung her head. Hands clenching into fists, she suddenly banged them on the table. Sabine jolted in her seat from the abrupt display of anger.

"Hera?" asked Sabine quietly. "What's going on?"

"Kanan. Ezra. Ahsoka. And now - you," Hera muttered. "Maybe someday, even Jacen. I'm so sick of losing people. I'm not strong enough to lose you, too."

"Losing - what? You're not going to lose me like you did with Kanan, Hera. I promise. Ahsoka came back, too, even if she's not the same as before! She's still fighting! And Ezra's still out there."

Hera turned her face back to Sabine. The younger woman felt her heart twist, seeing the cascade of tears on the Twi'lek's face.

"You're already gone, don't you get it? I've lost you. Once you decide to take that mantle - when you add 'Jedi' to your name, it's over," Hera whispered miserably. "That's the truth of this galaxy, Sabine. Jedi die."

Sabine shook her head. "Kanan died. I know that still hurts for you. But I'm still here and I promise Ahsoka isn't going anywhere either. Neither is Jacen. I'll make sure of it myself. And I will bring Ezra back," she added fiercely.

Hera smiled bitterly. "It's better if you leave him out there. Even better if he's dead. Because if Ezra isn't dead, then that means the Force isn't done with him yet. That means Ezra is destined for more suffering. For more sacrifice and heartbreak."

The Twi'lek leaned forward, her eyes glassy with bottomless pain. "Leave him be, Sabine. Don't go looking for him anymore. If you love him at all, you'll let him go."

Sabine was silent. Then, in an icy tone, she replied, "You don't mean that, Hera. I know you don't."

Hera looked away, blinking rapidly. Then, quietly, she said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

She didn't know what to say to comfort Hera. It's clear her friend had been harboring some deep conflict over the fate of her Jedi loved ones. Sabine belatedly realized that her deciding to be a Jedi was, to Hera, probably adding to that conflict.

To that buried pain.

Jacen was destined to follow in his father's footsteps someday. Maybe Hera saw Sabine as a safe option - that she would never take up the mantle and responsibility one day and could be relied upon to never break her heart the same way that Kanan and Ezra did.

Sabine wondered if she ever had nightmares about burying her one day. Or Jacen. Or Ahsoka. Outliving them all.

She wanted to hug Hera in that moment so badly. But something in the Twi'lek's demeanor told her that it wouldn't be welcome.

She stood up and made to depart. "I'll let you get some rest, Hera. We'll talk later."

Still not looking at her, Hera gave the barest of nods in acknowledgement. Sabine turned to go -

"Sabine."

She paused at the hallway leading to the docking bay.

"Follow your heart. I'll always believe in you, no matter what."

Without turning around, Sabine said, "Thanks, Hera."

"Don't thank me," came the sad reply. "You're going to be a Jedi now. Just like Kanan and Ezra. I don't get to keep you anymore."

Sabine was quiet. Listening.

"You belong to the Force now. I know you'll do well. You always have. It's in your nature to rise and meet whatever challenges come your way."

Sabine felt touched by Hera's words, yet there was a chill in her blood from the solemn way she uttered them. Finally, she worked up the nerve to turn around and face her directly.

Hera just gazed at her, but not seeing her at all - seeing through her, was the better term.

Like she wasn't there.

Like she was already a ghost.

"You have an important role to play now, Sabine. And, just like the other Jedi I loved, you'll play it . . . to the very end."

*Author's Note: Hello! So, this is just a seed of a story. Sometimes, when I'm brainstorming ideas for Sabezra fics, I'll have these conversations/scenes between characters pop up in my head, out of context. I don't know if I'll ever include these in future fics but I've decided to just start writing them down and posting them here just to keep track of. I always have ideas bouncing inside my head for stories regarding Sabine, Ezra, and the Ghost crew in general, so there will be more of these little fic-lets, I guess the term is? Except these aren't really full-fledged stories. Just short scenes.

Anyway, the genesis for this is pretty simple: I've always been interested if Hera feels conflicted about all the Jedi in her life, seeing as though they've all been met with terrible fates. I find it odd that Hera in the Ahsoka series seems all onboard for Jacen training to be a Jedi, considering what happened to his father and Ezra (and Ahsoka, to a degree). As a mother, she has to feel some trepidation about encouraging Jacen to be a Jedi - especially in that day and age. And now with Sabine - someone who is like a daughter to her - resolving to take up the mantle of a Jedi, I wanted to write out a scene where all those buried negative feelings bursts forth. I'm realizing that this is probably veering Hera into out-of-character territory, but it makes for a really good, dramatic, and angsty conflict between her and Sabine.

[something-tofightfor]

Black Days Interlude: Head High, A Song You Like

Pairing: Detective Tim Rockford x Female Reader

Word Count: 5,376

Rating: M (language, mentions of Reader’s previous relationship)

Summary: A week after your first date, something big comes up - leaving the status of a previous invitation up in the air. Tim does what he thinks is best ... but was it the right call?

Author’s Note: A little different this time ... hope you like it. 

Questions? Concerns? Wanna screech about Tim? You know where to find me.

Chapter title comes from “Head Down” by Soundgarden.

Masterlist / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5

(banner by @stealyourblorbos)

He pushed the tab back on his coffee cup before he took a sip, but it immediately flipped forward once he removed his fingers. Shit. Curling his upper lip when the thin plastic rammed into the space between his upper lip and nose, Tim rolled his eyes. This fuckin’ day. 

He hated having to hunt down witnesses, but that was what he’d been doing all morning - and the afternoon didn’t look any better. Shoving the cup back into the holder between the seats, he reached for his phone and unlocked it with one swipe of his finger. 

It had been almost a week since your date. He’d talked to you on the phone a couple times, and you’d exchanged text messages almost daily. But true to his word, he hadn’t been able to see you since you’d said goodbye in the parking lot of the donut shop. 

Tim knew that there was a decent possibility that both of you were setting yourselves up for disappointment by getting to know each other. You were fresh off of a breakup, and he didn’t have time for a traditional relationship. You worked two jobs on opposite shifts, and his workdays had no scheduled end times. 

It seemed destined to fail between you, and yet he hadn’t hesitated when it came to befriending you in the first place. 

Maybe it was the coffee. Maybe it was that you didn’t shy away when it came to the way he’d first spoken to you in the diner. It was likely a combination of multiple things, but whatever it was, Tim had wanted to know you, and that made it much more difficult for him to keep from stopping back into the diner after the first night you’d spoken. 

Tim opened his messages and quickly typed one out to you - you working tonight? - before setting it down on the seat and tipping his head back. It felt impersonal, but messaging during the day was a better option than calling, and he knew you’d answer. 

But your reply wasn’t what he was expecting, the vibration of his phone displaying a message from you only moments later. 

I’m on lunch, can I give you a call? 

Instead of answering, Tim called you, bending his arm and resting his elbow against the inside of the window while he waited for you to pick up. “Detective Rockford. I didn’t think you’d -” He clenched his jaw at the sound of your voice, fighting back a groan. I like hearing that so damn much. It had never been a thing for him before, but something about the sound of his name - and rank - coming from your mouth got to him. And she did it right away, too. 

“Figured I’d just call instead of typing back.” He curled his fingers against the side of his head, eyes on the windshield in front of him. “What’s going on? How’s work?” 

“The same as usual.” Your voice filled the small enclosed space, you quiet laugh at the end of the statement making him smile. “Tons of busy work, but at least it makes the days go by faster. You know how it is.” 

He watched a woman with a dog walk by, her mouth moving as she spoke to someone through her earbuds. “I do.” He nodded, swallowing. “So. You didn’t answer my question. You working tonight? I’ve got someone I need to talk to this afternoon about a case, but I’ll be out early tonight, so I thought … I thought I might see if you wanted me to -”

“I’m not working tonight.” You released a breath and Tim let his mind wander, thinking of your facial expression - and the likely slight pout of your lips as you sighed. “I’m actually giving up a diner shift every week to a coworker for the next couple months.” What? Why? “She’s pregnant, and wants to pick up nights while she still can. I don’t need the money like she does, so … I offered.” 

“That was nice of you.” He frowned, straightening up and moving his hands to the steering wheel. “Won’t be good for your sleep, but … I’m sure she appreciates it.” 

“That’s what they make Melatonin for, right?” You laughed, but he heard the sadness behind it. “I’ll be fine.” His frown deepened, Tim shaking his head back and forth. 

“Like I said, I’ll be home pretty early tonight, so if you want to stop over, you can. We can order dinner and watch a movie, or …” What the fuck are you doing, Rockford? He tightened his grip on the wheel, still staring out the window. Seeing you more wouldn’t help. In fact, it would likely only make the times when you couldn’t see each other because of his job more difficult to deal with and would make his divided attention hard to ignore. But she won’t be sleeping, and if she’s with me, at least she’ll have a distraction. “Or whatever you want.” 

There was a long pause, and Tim heard the sounds of you moving the phone, followed by the clearing of your throat. “Or you could come over here. You already know what time I’m done for the day, so… any time after that, I’m free.” 

It was a shift in the friendship, and both of you knew it. 

You inviting him over meant he’d have your actual address and access to your personal space. It meant seeing the place where you lived - and where your ex had lived. It meant seeing a part of you that he hadn’t before. “If you’re comfortable with that.” He swallowed, nodding. “I already said my place is open to you, so -”

“I want you to come over, Tim.” There was certainty in your voice, and he couldn’t hold back the smile at it. “Dinner and a movie sounds great, but it … it would be nice to have someone else in my place for a change, you know?” 

“Of course.” His eyes flicked over to the dash display at the telltale beep of another incoming call. I don’t know that number. “I’m getting another call right now, and it could be for work, so -”

“Take it, Tim. I’ll text you my address. Just let me know when you’re coming, OK?”

“Yes.” He said your name, wetting his lips. “Have a good rest of the day, alright? I’ll see you tonight.” 

You assured him you would - and told him to do the same. Instead of hanging up, he switched over to the second call, still smiling. The line was silent for a few seconds, and then he heard a man’s voice coming through the speakers. 

“Is this Tim Rockford?” Immediately, Tim’s body stiffened,  his eyes narrowing. “I was given this number by a friend of mine, he said he knew you?” 

“This is Rockford.” Tim shifted in his seat, wariness increasing. “Who is this?” 

“My name’s Victor Murphy, and I’m an associate of John Morgan’s?” Shit. What could … “If you have a few minutes to meet, I’ve got something I think you’ll want to see.” 

— 

Twenty five minutes later, Tim walked into a coffee shop, the man on high alert. 

There were a few other people in the restaurant, but he immediately zeroed in on a light-haired man sitting at a table and sipping from a coffee cup - thanks to the closed manilla envelope that rested in the center of the table. This ought to be good. 

He slid into the booth across from the man wordlessly, crossing his arms and then resting both elbows on the table. “Detective Rockford.” The blonde held out one hand, waiting for Tim to take it. “It’s nice to meet you.” Tim stayed quiet, eyeing Victor, but the man’s face gave nothing away. “I’m sure you’re busy, so we’ll get right to it, alright?” 

“Sounds good.” He pointed at the envelope. “What’s that?” 

“That,” the man started, pushing the envelope across the table .”Is why we’re here.” 

He tried - and failed - to keep the frown off of his face as he picked up and opened the envelope, turning it over to slide the contents out. And he failed again when his fingers tightened around the stack of photos, top lip curling into a snarl as he raised his gaze. “He is having her followed.” 

“He is.” Victor leaned in. “And I thought I’d tell you first.” Why? His eyes went back to the photos as he flipped through them - pictures of you leaving your apartment and heading to work in various outfits, a couple of you walking across a parking lot and holding a bottle of wine, a pair from you parking your car in front of his house, more of the two of you sitting on his patio and eating. There were pictures of you kissing that had been taken through the window of his kitchen, and even more of the two of you in the donut shop parking lot. 

Oh, I’m fucking pissed. He flipped through the last couple - images of you carrying the donut box back to your place - and then set the stack face down on the tabletop, steepling his fingers together and trying to keep his voice even. “Why are you showing me these?” 

Victor smiled, poking his tongue into the corner of his mouth. “I’m showing you because I thought … maybe you could do something for me.” 

“I don’t work with PI’s.” He scoffed. “It’s a -”

“The fact that you know John Morgan says otherwise.” Shit. Victor held up a hand, shaking his head. “I don’t want anything big. And I’d never ask anything that would compromise your job, that’s not my style. But you know how it is for John, and it’s the same for me.” He pointed at the pictures. “John was the one that gave me your name  when he saw those. I had no idea who you were before he told me.” The man sipped his coffee, pausing. “So I figured if I tipped you off that I was going to hand those over to my client later this week, maybe you could owe me one.” 

“One … what?” Tim straightened up, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. “I’m gonna need you to be a little more clear than that.” 

“A favor.” Victor held up a hand. “Maybe I’ll need a name or a license plate number or an address. Maybe I’ll need a heads up about prior criminal records. Maybe I’ll just need something to make my job easier. Morgan says you’ve come through for him a few times, and that’s all I’m looking for.” 

Tim cocked his head to the right, narrowing his eyes. The man didn’t seem to be asking for much - and despite the fact that he didn’t make it a point to work with PI’s - like he’d told you - he’d made an exception for his friend on a couple of occasions for cases that had nothing to do with relationship investigations. 

“Can I ask you something?” Tim poked his tongue into his cheek. “Why do you do this?” He pointed at the folder with one finger. “Why do you help men like her ex keep tabs on people after the end of a relationship?” Victor stayed quiet, waiting. “They’re not together anymore, and haven’t been for a while. It’s one thing if someone’s married and thinks that they’re getting cheated on, or if you suspect someone of a crime… but this?” He reached out, tapping the pictures. “She could have started dating five different people after they broke up, and it would have been none of his business, but you’re allowing it to be his business. You -”

‘I’ve gotta pay my bills, man.” Victor shrugged. “To be honest, most of what I do isn’t this. But one of this guy’s old teammates used me last year to tail someone he thought was embezzling from him, and recommended me. It’s just a job. I got paid to watch her for a couple months, and -”

“They’ve been broken up for months.” Tim leaned in, shaking his head. “So why now?” 

“He paid me upfront for three months starting about a month and a half ago.” The other man finished his coffee. “Couple days a week, I watch her. Watch her go to work at the office and then at that diner. Watch her do her errands after work and then go home. Watch her lights stay on almost all goddamn night when she is home. Until a little while ago, that’s all she did. Met up with friends a few times and had some drinks, but aside from that? Nothing.” 

Tim bit down on the inside of his cheek, trying to hold back a wince. She didn’t … she isn’t… it’s worse than I thought. You’d told him about your routine post-breakup, but he hadn’t realized just how little you actually did in your free time. “So I was the first guy you saw her with.” He scoffed, rubbing at his forehead with two fingers. “Before this, there was nothing to really …. Fuck.” 

“Look, I don’t know how well you know her, but, yeah. Before these pictures, the most interesting thing she did was lay out by the pool or read on her balcony at weird times. It was easy money, and since I didn’t really have much to report, it was no big deal.” He gestured to the photos. “That’s going to change. And I can’t just not give him anything, so he’s going to see the two of you.” 

“Does he seem dangerous?” Tim wet his lips. “I’ve never met the guy, but if she’s going to be …” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Do I need to warn her?” 

“You can do whatever you want, Rockford.” He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “And I don’t know. He hasn’t seemed like it in the couple times I’ve met him, but like I said, this is … new information. And the vibe I get from him is that he thinks that at some point, when this woman gets lonely enough, she’s going to want him back.” He thought back to your words - you telling him that your ex hadn’t wanted to see you with anyone but him. I’m going to tell her. I’ve got to. 

Tim pressed his lips together as he made a decision. “Can I keep these? If I tell her that this asshole’s got someone watching her, she’ll believe me if I can show her pictures.” Victor nodded. “Ok, and then … will you do me a favor?” He picked the pictures up again, flipping through them and pulling two from the stack. “Can you not give him these two?” He handed them over, letting the other man look. “You can see my address in ‘em, and I really don’t want this guy showing up at my door in the middle of the night because he thinks she’s there.” 

“I can do that.” Victor sighed. “Look, Morgan told me you were a good guy. And she seems like a normal girl. I’m not meetin’ this guy until tomorrow night, so you have a day or so to … figure out what you want to do.” Tim nodded. “I’m not going to give him your name, because there’s no reason I should know it yet. Take the pictures. Show her. Do whatever you want to do with ‘em, but if you confront him?” He leaned closer. “Don’t tell him I’m the one that gave them to you. I’m tryin’ to do the right thing and give you a heads up, but I still need to pay my bills.” 

“I’ll figure it out.” Tim stood and reached for the pictures and envelope, packing them back inside. “As much as I think it’s bullshit you agreed to this job in the first place, I appreciate you reaching out.” Victor laughed, nodding. “Anything else?”

“No.” The other man sat up straighter, his gaze turned up. “We good?” I hate this. But … 

“We’re good. I owe you one. You know how to get ahold of me.” Tim picked up the full envelope and took a step away from the table. Wait. Tim turned his head to the side, looking back over one shoulder. “I’ll owe you two if you keep me in the loop.”

“Hmm?” 

“You see anything that you think I should know about - this asshole approaching her, him mentioning anything to you, him asking you questions about getting anyone else involved … you let me know.”  Victor hadn’t expected that - but wordlessly, the man stuck his hand out, waiting. Tim took it, pumping up and down twice in agreement, and then nodded, retracting his arm and heading for the door. 

What the fuck am I going to do now?

— 

At a little after 4 pm that day, it seemed that he had an answer. 

He’d gone back to work, locating and interviewing the witness he’d needed to. After that, though, the conversation with Victor had replayed in his mind, and Tim began to do what he did best: investigate. 

He knew your ex’s first name, and thanks to the PI, knew more about his past.

It wasn’t difficult to find his social media pages and scroll through them on his phone from the front seat of the vehicle he used while working. It was even less trouble for Tim to find out where the man worked, the training facility only a few minutes away from the station. Small fucking world. 

He was done with work for the day - back in his own car, and had shed both the jacket and tie, tossing them into his backseat. His shoulder holsters were gone, too, tucked safely into the case he used for transporting his service weapons between home and the office. His badge was in the glove box, though, where he always kept it for easy access. I’m not here as a cop. I’m here as … 

Tim didn’t know quite what you were to him. At that point, the most correct term would have been friend, since you were still getting  to know each other. But that doesn’t feel… He sighed, both hands rising to his head and tugging on his hair. It could be more than that. Easily. 

He liked you - liked talking to you and seeing you, liked getting messages from you that helped to break up the hours of his workday. He liked having you in his house, and even enjoyed the sight of you in his kitchen, something that hadn’t been the case with other women that he’d dated. The fact that he liked you as much as he did made all of the reasons he’d told himself that the two of you getting closer was a bad idea seem less important. 

In a lot of situations, someone like Ryan being in the picture would have deterred him quickly. With you, it did the opposite. 

You being single  wasn’t a case of uncertainty or indecision. It wasn’t that the breakup was recent, and that you were waiting to see whether or not your ex wanted you back. Tim had spent years working cases with people in your situation - and seeing what the potential outcomes were from friends and loved ones. He didn’t want you to be a statistic. And she won’t be, not if I can do anything about it. 

There was risk when it came to what he was doing, and he knew it, but he was willing to take the repercussions, even if it meant you were upset with him. “Get ahead of it.” He tapped both thumbs on the steering wheel, keeping his eyes on the front doors of the facility. The online schedule said that Ryan was available for training sessions until 4 pm, which meant that he’d likely leave shortly afterward. If he doesn’t, I’ll just go home.

And thanks to the fact that the man had gotten a speeding ticket the previous year, it hadn’t taken more than a simple search through the database to find out Ryan’s license plate number and vehicle make and model. It was borderline abuse of his access capability, but the information he’d learned was no more invasive than information that you - or anyone else that knew the man - could have given him. And this is as far as it goes. 

He didn’t know what he was going to say when and if he saw the man, but in Tim’s experience, things typically went better if he didn’t operate on a script. And what’s the script for this anyway? Groaning, he rubbed his eyes. You’ve got yourself into some deep shit now, Rockford. 

Staring back at the door, Tim watched as a small group of people exited - two women and a younger man, an older woman and one that looked like her daughter, and a muscular man with dark blonde hair that held a phone up to his ear as he walked, a large drawstring bag slung over one shoulder. There he is. 

Grinding his teeth together, Tim glanced down at the envelope that was tucked between the passenger seat and center console and then moved his hand to the door handle. Here we go. The air outside of his car was warm, thanks to a cloudless sky, but Tim was chilled as he crossed the parking lot, heading a few spots down to where the man’s obnoxiously expensive sports car was parked.

“Hey.” He stepped to the front of the car, arms hanging loosely by his sides, but the blonde didn’t look up. “Ryan.” There was still no acknowledgement, and as Tim rolled his eyes in annoyance, he used the other man’s full name, taking another stride forward. “I need to talk to you.”

“Sorry, man, if you want to sign up for sessions, you’re to have to talk to Addie. She’s at the front desk right now, and she’ll -”

“I don’t want to sign up for anything. I want to talk about why you think it’s alright to stalk someone just because they don’t want to date you anymore.” That got Ryan’s attention, the man finally glancing up, the set of his jaw tight. Yeah, that’s what I thought. 

“Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think you -” Tim stepped closer as Ryan stared down, mindful of the fact that the other man had an easy few inches - and about 50 pounds - on him. “You fuckin’ her?” He slipped the phone into his pocket and narrowed his eyes. “Can’t think of any other reason someone would be out here saying this shit to me.” 

“Even if I was, it wouldn’t matter.” Tim straightened his shoulders. “You’re not together. What she does and who she’s with aren’t your business anymore.” Ryan’s eyes flashed in the late afternoon sun, but Tim kept going. “Anyone that resorts to hiring someone to invade another person’s privacy is an asshole. But someone that does it to keep tabs after the other person’s made it crystal fucking clear they want nothing to do with you makes you a special kind of asshole.” 

“And what are you going to do about it? Are you threatening me?” He crossed his arms and Tim had to fight back another roll of his eyes at the motion - entirely meant to be intimidating. “Do you know who I am?” 

“I do. And if you think that the fact that you played in the NFL for a couple months on some team’s practice squad a decade ago is going to intimidate me, you’re wrong.” Tim shook his head, frowning. “And as for what I’m going to do about it?” He smiled, the expression sliding slowly across his face. “All I need to do is tell her what you’re doing. No one can stop you from throwing your money away for some useless information, but at the very least she should know it’s happening.” He watched Ryan’s nostrils flare, the man shifting back and forth in place. Good. You should be pissed. “And who knows, when she finds out, maybe she’ll let everyone else in her life know you’re doing it, too. Maybe she’ll tell them that you had to resort to having someone else watch her because she didn’t want you around. Maybe -”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Ryan laughed, his upper lip curling as he pointed at Tim, one thick finger only inches from the center of the man’s chest. “Threatening me?” 

“I’m someone that understands what it means when a relationship ends. I’m someone that wouldn’t ever invade someone’s privacy in the way you are right now. “ He wet his lips, fighting the urge to settle one hand on his hip and instead left them hanging at his sides. “And I’m going to tell her. It’s not a threat. It’s a fact.” 

“She won’t believe you.” Ryan’s laugh was short and bitter, almost acrid to Tim’s ears. “I’ve never seen you before in my life, which means you didn’t know her until after we split. You think she’s going to believe someone she just met without proof? Fat fuckin’ chance.”

It was Tim’s turn to laugh, the sound a quiet chuckle that faded as he slipped both hands into his pockets, shrugging. “That’s what you think? Alright. Go right ahead and keep thinking that way. We’ll see what happens.” Tim blinked twice, keeping his eyes on the other man’s face. “Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time. You have a good afternoon, Ryan.” 

He spun on one heel, half expecting the other man to follow him to where he’d parked. But when Tim slid back into the driver’s seat of his car, Ryan was gone. Sliding the key into the ignition and starting the engine, Tim finally let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Shit. That was … was that a mistake? 

Pulling out of the parking spot, Tim headed for the exit, risking a peek at Ryan’s vehicle as he passed it - the blonde man’s frame visible in the driver’s seat. Is he going to follow me? He kept an eye out as he turned onto the main road and then the entire way back to his place, but didn’t see any sign of it. Figures. 

After parking in his garage, Tim paused in the kitchen long enough to slam both fists onto the kitchen counter, one loud “fuck! escaping as he leaned forward. Telling you what was going on hadn’t ever been just a threat. Giving you a warning was the least he could do, and even though he knew that it would likely put a damper on the night, he planned on doing it as soon as he saw you. Because she deserves it. She - 

His thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of his phone from his back pocket. Tim stood up and reached for it, taking a deep breath - and then froze when he saw your name on the screen. He closed his eyes and let the breath out as he answered, lifting the phone to his ear. “Hello?” 

“What the fuck did you do?” You sounded almost hysterical, and Tim’s heart lurched at the tone of your voice. “I’m still at work and I just got a call from Ryan. He said you showed up at his job today and threatened him in the parking lot.” Well part of that is correct, but - “And he also said that you made it a big deal that you and I have been sleeping together, so he needed to stop trying to -”

“Whoa.” Tim said your name, stepping away from the counter and tightening his grip on the phone. “I didn’t say any of that.” You laughed, but he could hear the uncertainty on your end. Does she really believe him?  He dragged the fingers of his free hand through his hair, heading for the stairs. “I -”

“You think that just because I invited you over, you can tell people that we’re … we went out on one date, and you kissed me, but that doesn’t -” Oh, this asshole. 

“Will you let me explain?” Tim was in his room, rifling through the hangers in his closet. “I know you’re upset. I can only imagine what he said to you, but I need you to know that it isn’t the truth.” You paused, your end of the line going quiet. Ok, that’s good. She’s listening. “I just walked into my house. I can be at your place when you get home. Or if you’d rather meet me somewhere that isn’t your apartment, I understand that too.” 

The thought of the invitation being rescinded stung, but when you spoke next, he heard a glimmer of hope in your words. “If you didn’t say any of that, then why is …” You sighed. “Ok. Alright. You can come here, but … but if he’s telling the truth, then…”

“If you give me the chance to tell you what happened, and then you’re still mad at me, I’ll leave. I promise. I just need a couple minutes.” You were silent for almost thirty seconds and then you agreed, Tim’s shoulders sagging at the sound of it. Thank fuck. 

“Ok. I’ll be home a little after 5, if you want to meet me.” You sighed. “There’s a parking lot next to the leasing office, and benches by the lake. We can sit there.” And then you can decide if you want to invite me up. I get it. 

“Ok.” He nodded, pulling a clean shirt off of the hanger and tossing it onto his bed. “I’ll see you then.” 

You hung up without saying anything else, and Tim spent a few seconds staring at his silent phone, frowning. He understood your anger. He got the fear you felt at the thought that he was making insinuations about your relationship with your ex to goad the man into action. But what Tim didn’t know was if the simple contact - and the feelings that it caused for you - were enough to derail the tentative connection that the two of you had before it had a chance to strengthen. It won’t be. 

Tim set his phone onto the bed and then undid his belt and started to unbutton his dress shirt. As he focused on that, he tried not to let himself think too hard about whether or not the next time he saw you would be the last.  It won’t be. He tossed the shirt into the hamper and then undid the button on his pants, sliding them down his legs. It can’t be. 

After sitting down on the edge of the bed, Tim balanced his elbows atop his knees and leaned forward, both hands covering his face. There was a feeling growing in his gut that he didn’t recognize; something twisted and anxious, spreading with each moment that he waited in silence. He’d worked countless cases with uncertain outcomes - and even more with known endings that hadn’t made him feel so uneasy. And here I am, like this because of … 

He hadn’t known you for long, but with a sharp intake of breath, Tim shot upright, the fingers of both hands curling into fists. The cases weren’t personal, and his involvement with 99% of them ended the moment they did - feelings and emotions left behind when he shed the work clothes and stepped away from his desk after signing off on final reports. But you were personal, and on Tim’s mind both on the job and when he was at home, relaxing on the couch or laying in bed. And I don’t want to lose that. 

Tim swallowed hard and stood, nodding his head. She’ll listen. She’ll understand. Removing his undershirt and throwing it on top of the other one in the hamper, he turned and reached for the one on his bed, pulling it on. Scratching at his scalp with one hand, Tim glanced in the mirror, trying to relax, even a little. “Cool it, Rockford. It’s gonna be alright.” It has to be.

But even as he spoke the words out loud, the crease between his brows  remained - as did the unsettled feeling in his gut. 

— 

 Tag list coming soon!

[dodorimo]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for tagging me @tellmeallaboutit <3

If you have been tagged before I'm sorry @sorrowfultales @djmorn @adevilyoudo

WIP - Do not call Raphael old (or maybe do that)

Eirin adjusted the hood around her head, looking both ways before crossing the street. Failure to pay attention in a place like this meant she would end up with a lighter purse and a knife to her throat. It was a rainy, ugly night. The kind that would make the average person stay at home with the windows well closed and the doors safely locked.

Her latest deal with Raphael involved trading a magicked skull for an item that increases one’s vitality. The idea of keeping secrets from her party didn’t make her proud, but guaranteeing their survival took priority. They would forgive her, eventually. If it was any consolation, she never intended to give Raphael his much-coveted crown, even though she wasn’t above dealing with him on more agreeable terms. She prepared herself for the worse, but he was all too happy to oblige. Perhaps a little too happy.

Raphael was sitting in the far corner of the bar, with Korilla at his side, when she entered the room. It took only a second to recognize them, standing out from the crowd like a flower among thorns. Quite an unglamorous place he chose this time, she noted with a cursory glance. Not his usual scene, she’d wager, but it served its purpose.

The discreet bag was unceremoniously dropped onto the table with a thud. She went through quite a deal of trouble at Lady Jannath's estate to acquire that skull, and quite some more to keep it under control. Part of her was beginning to think the reward wasn't on par with the effort.

Raphael donned a black-and-red doublet that night, every inch of him a prince. Looking at the devil always brought a mix of fascination and uneasiness. His teeth were too white, his hair so shiny it could as well have been polished with varnish. But she supposed there was a purpose to it, all part of his meticulously crafted appeal.

“If you would be so kind, Korilla dear.” Raphael’s velvety baritone cut through the silence.

“As you wish, boss.”

The dwarven woman didn’t give her time to dwell on her thoughts. She gave her a look of disapproval, frowned, then stood up from her seat and took the bag with her down a dark hallway. If Raphael noticed the waves of jealousy radiating from his esteemed help, he didn’t comment on it.

“Tav, Tav, Tav. How can I be of further assistance? Can I interest you in a good wine to wash the palate?” He waved to the barkeep, and the man filled her a glass and slid it across the counter in record time. “This one is twelve years in the making, half your age, if I recall correctly.”

“That depends,” she answered, ignoring his prattle. “Do you have anything else in store for me?”

“So quick to change the subject.” He gave his best winning smile. Destined to warm hearts and make tongues wag. She was almost ashamed to admit she wasn’t exactly unaffected by it. “You know what they say.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “After business comes pleasure.”

A manicured brow went up to her hairline. “Not for me. I work around the clock.”

“What would convince you, then? To partake in a singular moment of bliss?” he said, placing a hand on her knee under the table.

Eirin flinched but didn't move. To an unassuming witness, the touch was no more than friendly banter, his fingers barely touching her skin, but she knew better.

His bold proposal didn't come out of nowhere. She wasn't ignorant of the way his eyes followed her around the room, the slew of backhanded compliments, and the double entendres he slipped in here and there. The question was why here and why now.

She chose silence instead of answering, swirling the liquid in the glass, before giving it a good try. Bold, with a note of sweetness. Must be his favorite.

“No disrespect to the good vintages, they have their uses, but I prefer something a little… fresher?”

That did the trick. He reclined back in his seat with his arms by his side, all mirth and warmth vanishing from his face. “Is that so?”

The wine must have made her more daring or she just liked the way his face turned sour a little too much, because suddenly, she couldn't shut up. “You fiends are all talk. I’d rather try my luck with the town drunk.”

[hummingbird-of-light]

In Our Favor

Part 315

McCoy

McCoy woke slowly and stretched lazily in bed. He bumped Scotty as he did so, and pulled his hand quickly back. He turned his head to look at his husband, but Scotty’s eyes were still closed, his face relaxed. McCoy smiled. Things always seemed just right when he was close to his love.

He rolled up onto his side so he could see Scotty better. The Scotsman was facing him and McCoy couldn’t help bringing a hand up to gently brush his fingers along Scotty’s jaw.

Scotty shifted and McCoy stilled.

“C’mere,” Scotty mumbled. He moved an arm and draped it across McCoy’s side.

McCoy moved closer and tucked his head under Scotty’s chin.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said softly.

Scotty’s chest moved with a quiet laugh. “S’alright love. You want to get up? Or sleep some more? Or…?”

McCoy held in his own chuckle.

“If I choose ‘or,’ are you going to ask ‘didn’t I get enough of ye last night?’” McCoy pulled his head back so he could see Scotty’s face again. His husband’s mouth was twisted into a grin, but his eyes were still closed.

“Aww Len, maybe I’m the one who didn’t get enough of ye.” With that Scotty’s arm tightened over McCoy, bringing his body even closer to Scotty.

“So mo ghràdh, would ye like to grab a late breakfast in the dining hall or shall we get something when we go to town?” Scotty sat beside a very satisfied McCoy.

“We’re going to town?”

“Aye,” Scotty nodded with a satisfied face of his own. “Didn’t ye listen when Aporal made it sound like I had more plans for yer birthday?” Scotty began to chuckle and McCoy could only roll his eyes at his husband.

“Town I guess. You have somewhere in mind?”

“Aye. Suppose we should probably get up then?”

“Suppose so,” McCoy agreed. He threw back the covers and stood up. He heard a faint whisper of Gaelic as he began to move towards the bathroom and a moment later Scotty was right behind him.

“Ah. Good choice,” McCoy said as he and Scotty approached the small coffee shop. They had been there previously for Scotty’s birthday weekend with their siblings, Francine, and Granddad.

“They had a good tea selection,” Scotty said as he held open the door.

“And what else have you got planned for the day?” McCoy asked as they joined the line at the counter.

“Hmm,” Scotty pretended to think. “Ye’ll have to wait and see.”

Part 316

Scotty

"So, where are you taking me next?" Leonard threw a glance around. The streets were quite crowded and busy, but Scotty was actually very glad they were, because that way the two of them wouldn't get noticed easily. After the articles about the fire and some people trying to connect it to Leonard, he really didn't want either of them to be recognized.

"Oh, ye'll see. I suppose after eating so much for breakfast, we better take a digestive stroll around town first, huh?"

Leonard chuckled at that.

"Hey! It was a really good breakfast. Can't blame us for wanting to try everything," he said, shrugging his shoulders. Scotty chuckled too.

"True that."

Visiting the wee familiar café had really been a good idea, even though the Scotsman had had a few doubts during his planning about not daring to try out a new place. However, in the end he had come to find that his husband actually loved to return to already known places.

"So you really won't tell me what you have planned for today?" Leonard sent his love a curious look and Scotty laughed.

"Ye didn't tell me about yer plans for my birthday either, did ye? Therefore I can keep things secret too."

The prince let out a heavy sigh.

"Point taken. Guess I just have to wait and see, huh?"

A sly smile pulled at Scotty's lips as he nodded his head.

"Aye. Aye, ye do."

The way to the Golden Gate Park was longer than Scotty had expected it to be, so instead of walking the whole distance, he eventually chose to call a cab.

Scotty ordered Leonard to cover his ears as to not ruin the surprise for him, then he quietly told the driver their destination. The woman gave him a smile and an understanding nod, before she started the vehicle and drove off.

It was a very relaxing drive and within fifteen minutes the cab reached the park. A smile formed on Leonard's lips when he saw the entrance leading inside and he looked over at Scotty. The Scotsman returned the smile.

"Surprise, mo ghràdh. I hope ye like it."

"So, I thought we could visit some of the museums? Just tell me where ye wanna go and we'll go." Scotty held a PADD showing the map of the huge park in his hands so that both he and Leonard could see all the great spots.

"Maybe we could start right here and try to get a good view at everything," Leonard said, pointing at something Scotty had really hoped for his husband to choose.

The huge ferris wheel! Something Scotty had always loved to ride when he had been to amusement parks. He loved to be so high above the ground. To be closer to the sky and the stars. To almost be able to touch the clouds.

The Scottish lad smiled to himself and nodded.

"A good choice. Well then... let's go."