#so yay !!! i did it i left the house !!! alone !!! hard thing for me to do !!!

[boyfriendyke]

i love love love the public library as a service but unfortunately i dislike it as a building and environment. solely because i am a guy who is freaked out by silence

[sixflame438]

Chasing Lightning

Synopsis - Your girlfriend’s in a mood and locks herself in your room causing you to sleep apart. It starts thunder storming in the middle of the night but Minjeong is scared of lightning

Pairing - Kim Minjeong X Reader

Tags - Fluff, light angst, mild astraphobia, established relationship, grammatical errors probably, another 3am post

A/N - A short fic i wrote in one go (yay me), will try to get the other drafts out of the basement after my last 2 exams :D

Wordcount - 1726

Minjeong was mad again and you dont have a clue why. All you did know was that you finished your dinner alone and that your apartment was lacking the usual lively energy of your girlfriend. It was like winter had frozen over with how silent and chilling being in the apartment felt, not even the sounds of a drama playing quietly in the background.

You missed your girlfriend despite her simply being a door apart. And of course you tried multiple times to get her out, whether that was sincerely asking her to or attempting to lure her out with snacks they were all to no avail. She just wouldn’t budge.

If it weren’t for the muffled noises coming from behind the door you probably wouldve assumed you were home alone but they were very real and they definitely came from your girlfriend. You deduced the sounds to be crying and sniffling and it hurt you to hear them, even more knowing you had no way to stop them.

You couldnt even begin to figure out why she was in such a mood. It was like this when you came back from work.

No hugs

No kisses

No Minjeong

No nothing

You couldve easily spent the entire night trying to coax her out but you were tired and sweaty from work and all you wanted to do was crash out while snuggling with your favorite person.

If Minjeong wasnt going to let you in, youd just have to give her some time and space. You had no choice anyway.

She had locked you out of your own bedroom and left you to fend for yourself alone. (it was practically both of yours with how often she was in there with you but the audacity of this girl)

And since most of your stuff was in there you had to make do with what was left scattered around the house. It really wasnt that hard though since you were quite the clumsy mess, always forgetting and leaving things in places they shouldnt be.

In your scavenger hunt you had found a spare set of clothes to change into, some makeup wipes to clean your face with and half of the products required in your night routine.

You took a quick shower to freshen up and rearranged the couch so that you would have an easier time trying to sleep. There was a spare blanket bundled in the corner from your movie night 2 days ago which you could use and some cushions and pillows you could stack to provide another layer of comfort.

Laying onto your makeshift bed, you struggled with finding a good position to sleep in. The couch wasnt ideal to sleep on and the cushions kept moving out of place everytime you turned. It wasnt much but it would have to do, youd just have to hope it was enough.

————————————

It wasnt enough. You were certain just lying on that made you feel worse than you did before. The uneven feeling of the cushions didnt help either as different parts of your body were elevated while others were feeling the hard surface of the couch.

The weather didnt help much as a thunderstorm started as soon as you tried sleeping and no matter how hard you wanted to, you couldn’t will yourself into slumber either. The raging downpour of rain mixed with the thunderclaps created a painful symphony of pattering noises, uneven and aching to the ear, perfect to distract someone from falling asleep.

Lightning had also started coloring the dark skies with its striking flashes, loud and unpredictable. Since you couldn’t sleep you decided it would be fine to indulge in the lightning instead, pulling over a chair and opening the blinds so you could see the skies better.

The low dim light glowing from the moon and the dark midnight sky helped illuminate the lightning strikes and bright stars. If you were a photographer you wouldve definitely tried capturing the moment in physical form but keeping the scene in your head was alright too.

Other than the scene being quite stunningly beautiful (like your girlfriend) you found it quite funny as it kind of looked like the sky was trying (and failing) to play connect the dots with the stars. You dont know why but you were just so entertained by the sight.

It was rare but you had always enjoyed seeing the natural phenomenon nonetheless, finding it quite fascinating and inspiring.

Your girlfriend on the other hand?

Strong stoic Minjeong was never a fan of lightning, it was quite an experience the first time you both saw the flashing lights together. The high pitched squeals and screams could never leave your head and you didnt want them to. It was fun seeing that side of her and even more fun teasing her about it.

You remember bringing her close and spending the night in each others embrace, forgetting the world as it faded away. This time though you weren’t there for her, you couldn’t even if you wanted to all because of a stupid locked door.

You were really hoping Minjeong had already fallen into a peaceful slumber and hadnt heard the harsh sounds of the lightning. Considering you hadnt heard any noises from your girlfriend yet you took it as a good sign but the worrying feeling wouldnt leave so you remained unsettled.

That feeling was quickly sidelined though as another bolt of lightning hit. This one had a tint of red to it which you found absolutely amazing. You had learnt in a previous deep dive that lightning strikes could reflect any colour in the spectrum so seeing it in person was mind blowing.

You were so mesmerized by the colours and sounds of the lightning that you didnt hear the slight click of the bedroom lock or the soft padding of feet in your direction. It wasnt until you felt 2 tiny arms around your waist that you snapped out of your haze.

Part of you was still resentful of how quickly Minjeong shut you out (physically and mentally) but as soon as you registered the tears coming from your beloved you crumbled.

Even though Minjeong was stubborn and acting up all you wanted to do was wrap her up and cradle her in your arms. She was always there for you so the least you could do was be there for her as well.

As you turn around to properly to face your girlfriend a perfectly timed lightning strike allowed you to see her entire face in all of its glory. Minjeong mustve been crying for a while by the red eyes and flushed cheeks.

You physically soften at the sight, heart filling with sympathy and concern as you observe your girlfriend for any other signs.

There was nothing you wanted more than to pull her into your arms and spend the rest of the night comforting her. Even your ego tried to resist but you couldn’t stop yourself from reaching out and doing just that.

You pull her onto your lap and with one arm rubbing her back in circles and the other running down her hair in a soft delicate motion you coax Minjeong into finally letting out the remaining tears. The weight of your comfort too heavy to bear.

A croaky im sorry is all you hear as your girlfriend starts sobbing into your shoulder. You’re not sure what shes apologizing for. Maybe for crying? For being vulnerable? For locking you out of your room? Her fear of lightning? Probably all of the above.

Humming in acknowledgment you continue to console Minjeong, whispering soft reassurances in between sobs. As the storm eventually faded out, Minjeongs crying evened out too. Soft whimpers and hiccups could be heard amongst the sprinkling of rain.

You have a feeling that Minjeong would’ve succeeded in staying the entire night alone in your room if it weren’t for the lightning scaring her out.

“Hey lets get some rest now that the rains subsided. Im gonna take you back into the room okay?” You dont wait for a reply as you gently lifted Minjeong off your lap and guided her to stand and lean onto you.

Slowly and steadily you lead her back into the bedroom and notice the soaked pillow doused in her tears. Hell no were you going to let her sleep on that. Luckily you were a person who loved sleeping with multiple pillows so you had some spare hidden away.

(Minjeong found it impractical having pillows to hug when you could just cuddle with her instead and your bed was only so big so you moved them to make room)

You pull out the unused pillows from your storage closet and tuck Minjeong back into bed with little resistance, her already tired state fueled by the lack of energy from all the crying.

Ensuring she was comfortable and safe you place an affectionate kiss on her forehead.

You were hesitant on whether you were allowed to join her or not, as you still didnt know why she was upset and if you had played a part in her suffering. But your questions get answered with a simple

“Stay”

Quiet and low but you heard it. Not allowing yourself to linger any longer, you climb into bed and tuck yourself in too. Gently wrapping your arms around Minjeong as you did before, careful not to set her off again.

It takes a while for Minjeong to calm down fully but with your soothing touches she eventually drifts off. As soon as you registered her breathing falling into a stable state, you allowed yourself to relax for the first time that night. Basking in the closeness of her company, you lay another tender kiss on her forehead and temple.

It didnt matter what had happened, as long as you were still able to kiss her goodnight that’s all that mattered. Youre still skeptical about Minjeongs behavior, being kept in the dark about something as important as this was not something you enjoyed but you had a feeling that it would work out. Tomorrow was new day and you had plenty of time to decode her then.

Now that Minjeong was back in your arms you were never letting her go (unless she tried to lock herself in again that is)

[rafeandonlyrafe]

christmas stocking

words: 1.3k

warnings: established relationship, reader has really good relationship with parents, implied bad family situation for rafe, christmas celebrations

taglist: @drewstarkeyslut @thelomlisrafecameron @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @winterrrnight @drudyslut @drewsbaby @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @jjmaybankisbae @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog

“hey momma.” you say with a smile as you answer the phone, clicking it to speaker so you continue to work. 

“hi baby girl!” your moms voice rings out through the speaker. “did you figure out what time you're leaving?”

“looks like tomorrow at 10 am, then we should be to yours by dinner.” you hum, glancing at the clock while continuing to pack up. “oh, change of plans by the way. rafe is coming with me.” 

“oh yay!” your mom squeals. she only met rafe once when she came to visit you in the outer banks at your new house, but it was so early on in your relationship that she didn't really get to know him well, and things are a lot more serious now. “i can't wait to have my babies home for christmas.”

“does that mean andrew will be able to make it?” you ask, inquiring about your brother.

“they'll be here, but leaving the day after christmas for his wife's family.” 

“okay, that sounds good. itll be nice to have the four of us back together, plus rafe and diana.” you hum. ever since your brother went away for college when he turned 18, and you left two short years after to move to the outer banks, it was hard to get the whole family together, even for the holidays. you spent the last two christmases in the outer banks, one spent alone in your new house, the other with the camerons.

you were shocked by how different their christmas was than what you were used to. it was cold and devoid of any traditions besides what was seemingly forced on the kids of the family. you ultimately had a good time with rafe, but you missed the familiarity and fun that you had with your family. 

rafe was originally going to stay in the outer banks, not wanting to intrude on your family, but you finally convinced him last night that everyone would be happy to have him.

“okay so tell me about what i can get for rafe.” your mom says, and you just know she's bent over the counter with a notepad and pen in hand, not wanting rafe to be left out of opening presents.

--

“ready to go rafey?” you ask, looking at the back of the car, trunk filled with your suitcases, while the back seat has already wrapped presents, both for your family and ones for rafe, as well as his for you.

“i am. last chance to say if you forgot something.”

“nope.” you shake your head, “ive gone over my checklist three different times.”

“alright, off to your parents then.” rafe says, leaning over and pressing a kiss to your lips before taking off down the road.

--

“can we stop? i gotta pee.” you say, looking at the sign for an upcoming rest stop.

“again?” rafe sighs, but there's a small smile gracing his features as he turns the indicator on, pulling off to the road stop.

you hop out of the car, but rafe follows right behind you, not letting you go in by yourself, always extra cautious when you're out in public, especially away from the outer banks. 

“gonna get us snacks.” rafe says, keeping his eye on you as you head into the bathroom, only turning to the vending machines when you disappear behind the tile wall. 

--

“hey baby.” rafe says softly, stroking over your thigh to wake you up. “we're almost there.”

you stretch with a yawn, rubbing at your tired eyes. you blink them open, realizing the roads are now familiar, about to pull off the highway at your home town exit.

“thanks for driving, rafey.” you say, leaning over the center console to give him a kiss on the cheek. you clean up the car a bit while he finishes the drive, gathering up the wrappers of the chips and snacks and shoving them into a bag to throw away later.

“im so excited.” you say as rafe turns down your road, and your parents house comes into view.

“i can’t wait to get to know them.” rafe says, pulling into the driveway. you can’t help the squeal you let out in excitement as you rush out as soon as the car is in park, briefly turning your head to make sure rafe is following you as you step onto the porch, not bothering to know before flinging open the door, knowing that your parents are no doubt waiting right inside for you.

“mom! dad!” you shout, jumping into their arms as they swallow you into a comforting hug. you press a kiss to both of their cheeks before turning to rafe.

“i brought these for you.” rafe sticks forward his hand, in it a bouquet of flowers, presenting them to your mother.

“oh, rafe, darling you shouldn’t have.” your mom coos, pulling rafe into a hug before rushing into the kitchen to place the flowers into a vase. rafe gives your dad a firm handshake before offering to help carry in your bags.

you smile and look out the door as they chat casually, happy that rafe seems to be fitting in instantly.

--

“its just so different.” rafe says softly, stroking his hand absentmindedly over your back as you’re curled up next to him on the couch.

“what do you mean?” you hum, pressing your lips against his shoulder, even though you can guess what he’s talking about.

“your family is just so… easy going. and you all get along so well.” rafe says, looking around the living room at your parents sharing a couch, and your brother and his wife sitting in matching armchairs, all chatting happily amongst themselves.

“im lucky to have such an amazing family.” you say, looking to rafe. “and that you’re a part of it.” “i dont want to intrude though, baby. so if you have any traditions you want to be just amongst your-” “shh.” you cut rafe off, a smile on your face. “we all want you here. my mom was so excited when i told her you were coming. you love me right?” you ask, which rafe of course nods. “and we are planning to be together forever right? so of course my family is going to want you around, to include you in our traditions.” “sorry, dears, i couldn't help but overhear.” your mom says with a slightly blush to her cheeks. “forgive me for eavesdropping, but i actually have a gift for you rafe.”

rafe begins to say that he doesn’t need any gifts, but your mom cuts him off with a quick stern look, one he’s seen in you many times.

your mom returns to the room with a small wrapped box in her hands.

“thank you.” rafe says sincerely, setting the box on his lap. you smile, already knowing what is inside, seeing it before when andrew first brought diana to christmas celebrations.

rafe opens the box carefully, attempting not to rip the paper and make a mess, aware of the eyes on him.

“a christmas stocking.” rafe says with a smile as he pulls it out. you wait for him to notice, and you can tell from his body language the second his eyes read over his own name, hand stitched by your mother, signifying rafes place in the family. he tenses for a second before melting completely, body slumping against yours.

you wrap your arms around rafe, knowing this is an emotional moment for him, his moment where he realizes how loved and accepted he is.

“we are so happy you’re a part of our family, rafe.” your mom says, accepting his hug when he stands to embrace her and thank her for the gift, looking to the mantelpiece with all of the family stockings hanging, where his will soon join.

your dad strikes up a conversation with andrew, and you know its to take some of the pressure and attention off rafe as he ducks his head into your neck, pressing soft kisses to the skin there.

“i told you you wouldn’t be intruding.” you whisper, running your fingers through his hair.

“yeah, yeah.” rafe says sarcastically. “you’re right.” you give him a look, before he concedes with a nod. “as always.”

[kiiwiigii]

The Red-Eyed Boy pt. iii

Pt. One | Two | Outtake

Alec x Swan!Fem!Reader

Summary: Alec returns and shows you how sorry he is. *wink, wink*

Warnings:

Smidge of angst

Smidge of bondage

Straight up smut

Word Count: 3,130

A/N: Today I learned that suck at writing smut, but please enjoy anyways. As with all my Alec fics, he is aged up. Also, I am fucking obsessed with this gif.

Tags: @rosedpetal, @lack-lust-3r, @badass-daisy-22

Alice and Bella eyed me warily from their spot on the kitchen table as I padded around the kitchen. It was my turn for dinner tonight and I was working on a new recipe.  

"Please stop looking at me like that. I'm not about to keel over dead and I'm definitely not about to poison Bella right before she gets married." 

I grinned when Bella scrunched up her nose in annoyance. 

"You're not gonna die because you're tied to Edward through a piece of paper, Bells." 

"Says you." She grumbled. 

"Have you heard from him?" Alice asked softly. 

"No." I pursed my lips. 

It had been nearly two weeks, and I hadn't heard a damn thing from Alec. I had called and texted only to be ignored and left on read. I knew he'd be mad, but for the love of God, he was taking this too far. I just wanted to strangle him. I had spent the first week moping before trying to shake myself out of it. I refused to let myself fall into the state that Bella had after Edward left. 

Although it was really hard not to. I still had my moments, usually in the evenings when I was alone. 

I paused in the middle of chopping an onion, looking over my shoulder at Alice. Her visions were the only thing I could really count on right now, unless I had a vision of my own. Unfortunately, sleep had been avoiding me, and when I did sleep nothing came to me. 

She shook her head sadly, indicating that she hadn't seen anything. Yet. However, she also hadn't seen anything different from her previous visions, so nothing had really changed, and that gave me hope. 

"So, Y/N, we have your first dress fitting tomorrow." Alice, thankfully, changed the subject.  

"Ooh yay! Do I get to see Bella's dress?" 

Bella groaned before plonking her head onto the table. She was so easy to tease. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want to marry me." Edward entered the kitchen, shrugging off his jacket. 

I smiled watching them all together, happy to watch the little scene from afar. Eventually I had to turn back around, doing my best to hum a tune in my head, both to distract myself from the situation with Alec and so Edward wouldn't pick up on my depressing thoughts. This should be a happy time. 

Somehow, I don't think I was fooling anyone. 

It was official. I hated weddings and anything to do with them. I was almost positive that had I not been in a house full of vampires, Rosalie would have stuck a few pins in me on purpose.  

It was dark by the time I finally arrived home, and all I really wanted to do was shower and pass out on my bed. Keeping up a relatively happy façade almost 24/7 was exhausting. 

The house was dark, and I suddenly remembered that dad was out on one of his camping trips with a friend. Well, at least I would have the house to myself, and I could be as depressed as I wanted. 

I went straight to my room to gather some pajamas and a towel. I almost felt too tired to even shower, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to make sure I do some basic self-care. Throwing my bag onto the bed, I began to strip. 

"You should keep your window locked." 

I jumped and let out a scream, quickly covering myself, dress already hanging half off. 

It was Alec, propped up on my bed, another book in hand. How had I not seen him?? I even threw my bag in his direction. 

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I wheezed at him, trying my best to get my racing heart back under control. 

"Not particularly." His eyes roamed over me, from head to toe, his eyes lingering on my neck, where my pomegranate seed necklace hung. And then the dangling straps of my dress. "You look beautiful, tesoro." 

I blinked rapidly, trying my best to figure out what the hell was happening. I hadn't heard from Alec in nearly a month and here he was, just sitting here. In my room. On my bed. As if nothing had ever happened.  

"Where have you been? Why have you been ignoring me?"  

He simply eyed me before closing the book with a thump.  

"I was extremely… angry. There was a while where I did not really have control of myself. I even scared Jane." He admitted. "I didn't want to take it out on you. Or for you to see that side of me." 

I glared at him. 

"So, you just disappear without a word? Didn't bother telling me that you were okay and that you just needed space? You're aware that I've had visions of you since I was like, six years old, right? I've seen you angry." 

"Not like this, you haven't." He said quietly. 

"Do you know what I thought? I thought you had left me. Despite whatever Alice's visions tell her, I know that they can change at the drop of a hat. I was just sitting here waiting, praying that you wouldn't change your mind." 

Fuck, here come the tears. 

He was next to me in a heartbeat, hands cupping my face. I tried to back away, but he kept his grip firm. 

"I would never leave you, Y/N." He said softly, wiping the tears away. "Ever. I have never been good at relationships. I have always kept myself at arm's length, but you, you are different. And when I saw you on that field, after the battle, I had never been so scared and angry in my life." 

He paused for a minute, searching. "Had I lost you, I would have burned the world down." 

My breath hitched in surprise, and I could feel my heart skip a beat. He kissed me then, and I allowed it, wrapping my arms around his neck as he reached for my waist. His kiss was soft and controlled, while mine was bordering on desperation. 

"Don't you ever do that to me again." He whispered against my lips, a warning. 

Why did that turn me on and piss me off at the same time? 

"I'm sorry, what was that? Because it sure didn't sound like an apology, Alec." 

He pulled me flush against him, nipping at my collarbone in reproach. I hissed in pain, but he quickly soothed it over with his tongue. 

"Then let me show you how sorry I am." He whispered. 

He pulled me in for a heated kiss and I couldn't help but gasp. Alec took the opportunity to dip his tongue into my mouth again, and the moan that worked its way up my throat had him growling possessively. 

I could already feel my nipples tightening and the wet heat between my legs. 

I grabbed him by the collar to pull him closer. He gladly obliged and before long, he had me pressed into the bed, right underneath him, his lips giving slow languid kisses anywhere he could reach. 

"Alec." My voice was caught in my throat. 

Goddammit. He hadn't even gotten me out of my clothes before he had me begging. Hell, he had barely even touched me.  

And I was supposed to be mad at him, dammit! 

He paused, lips at the swell of my breast. Finally, he lifted himself up so he could look me in the eye, searching my face. 

"Do you trust me?" 

I nodded my head furiously. 

"I need to hear you say it, Y/N." 

"I trust you." 

I was practically panting. 

Alec produced a long strip of gauzy fabric and slowly tied my hands together, gauging my reaction, before putting them above my head. 

"Did you come prepared with that?" I gaped at him. 

"No. I took it from your bag." He smirked. 

My bag? Since when did he have the time to go through my bag? I looked at my tied wrists again, trying to wrack my brain as to why I had a long ass strip of- 

'Oh my god.' 

It was the sash to my bridesmaid's dress. I know I hadn't put it in there. The last time I had seen it- Alice. She fucking knew. She had to. She had a vision and didn't even tell me. Granted, if this was a part of her vision, I would be highly embarrassed to hear her explain exactly what she saw. 

"Now." Alec put my hands above my head again, and then trailed his own hands down my arms to my collarbone, thumbing over the mark he had placed on it earlier. "Your hands stay put above your head until I say otherwise. If they do not, I stop. No matter what I am in the middle of." He warned, pausing to make sure that I understood. "Are you okay with this? If not, we can stop." 

I shook my head back and forth frantically. 

"Y/N, I need you need to say it out loud." 

"Yes." I breathed. 

"Good. If you become uncomfortable at any point you are to tell me." 

"Yes sir." It was out of my mouth before I even realized it and I blushed furiously. 

"Are you sure you're a virgin?" He teased. 

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" I teased back, a little breathless. 

Alec's brows raised before he smirked, leaning in closer, mouth right next to my cheek. 

"I think I am going to enjoy this very much." His hands began to make their way past my collar bone to cup my breasts through the fabric of my dress, his thumbs flicking slowly back and forth over my nipples.  

My back arched in a gasp, and he let out a hum, pleased with my reaction. Soon I felt more and more skin being exposed to the cool night air, his cold lips and tongue following right behind it, licking and nipping his way until, aside from my bra, I was fully exposed from the waist up. I blushed as he sat back, admiring the view. 

"You are truly beautiful, mio cara." He breathed.  

His cold hands caressed every inch of exposed skin, purposely avoiding the spots that I wanted him to touch the most. I pouted up at him and he swiped a thumb across my lip. 

"I must admit Y/N, I like seeing you like this. And I think you like it too." 

Slowly, I gave his thumb a long lick before sucking it into mouth. His eyes darkened even further, and I could practically feel the rumble of possessiveness in his chest. 

"Careful, amore." His voice was now husky and strained. 

I released his thumb, edging my teeth along the sides and cocked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were supposed to be apologizing." 

His eyes were now pitch black. 

"I think you forget who's in control here." 

I let out a squeak as he moved aside and ripped my dress the rest of the way down, leaving me in just my bra and panties. He settled himself between my legs, to nip and kiss his way along the inside of my thighs. 

I sucked in a sharp breath when he placed a kiss right over my covered mound, and then nuzzled into it. My hands jerked and he looked up at me, remaining still. 

"Hands, amore." He chided. 

I immediately put them back in place, wriggling my hips in anticipation. Finally, he slid my panties down, revealing my inner most self, glistening and wet just for him. 

"Perfect." 

It was the only thing I heard before his mouth was on me and my back arched off the bed yet again.  

Keeping perfect eye contact with me, he gave me long slow licks, delving into me with his tongue. And then he found my clit. I couldn't help it, I cried out, my hands immediately coming down to lace themselves through his hair. 

This wasn't an apology; this was fucking torture.  

He paused with a growl. 

"Hands, amore." 

"But- but-" 

He lifted himself up slightly, a warning look in his dark eyes. "Hands." 

"Alec." I whined, wriggling my hips again and trying push him back down. "Please." 

"You know the rules, principessa." 

"Did you just call me princess?" 

He just smirked. "You're learning. Now, hands. If I have to tell you again, I will tie you to the bed." 

'You just may have to do that.' I thought. 

He watched me for a moment more before slowly lowering himself back down, wrapping his arms around my thighs to keep my hips level. He began his slow assault on me yet again and I did my absolute best to keep my arms above my head. It was working so far... barely. 

Before long I could feel a warm heat beginning to build low in my stomach.  

"Oh god, please don't stop." I chanted. "Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop." 

I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, all I knew what that it felt good, and he absolutely had to keep going. Otherwise, I was sure I was going to die right then and there. 

And then the bastard stopped. 

"Alec." I let out a low whine. 

He crawled back up to me, placing a kiss on my lips and I groaned at the taste of my arousal on him.  

"No cumming just yet, amore." He swept his tongue along my lips. "The only cumming you will be doing is on my cock." 

I almost choked. "Have- have you always been this dirty?" 

"You have no idea." He bit my earlobe and I squirmed at his words. “And this is only just the beginning.” 

"Well, it looks like won't be doing much of anything, since you're still dressed." 

"That can easily be remedied." 

My eyes widened as he slipped off his shirt. I had always known he was muscular but there was a big difference between feeling it and seeing it. Next came his pants and underwear, and I’m pretty sure my brain stopped working. 

How was that going to fit?? 

"Like what you see?” 

I simply nodded my head, my mind still trying to process the situation I was in... and the fact that his cock was rather... large. 

He leaned over and began untying my hands. I raised a brow at him. 

"I want you clinging to me when you cum." 

Oh fuck. 

My hands immediately went to explore his naked chest when he caught my hand and kissed my fingertips. 

"Are you still okay?"  

"Alec, I swear to God if you don't fuck me-" 

He cut me off, crushing his lips to mine and I suddenly felt him nudging at my entrance. He sat back briefly, rubbing himself in my juices, preparing. 

"Eyes on me, amore." 

I swiftly looked back up at him. I don't think I could have taken my eyes off him in that moment. 

Finally, finally, I felt him enter me ever so slowly. I let out a hiss of pain, my hands clutching desperately at the sheets, and he stopped, letting me adjust for a minute, all the while never breaking eye contact. This, this was something else. I had never felt so full.  

"Fuck, you're tight." 

I let out a whimper. 

"It's okay, mio cara." He kissed away the tears from my face, I hadn't even realized that I was crying. "I'm going to move now." 

And boy did he move. It took a few thrusts before the pain subsided and then I felt as if I was flying. He kept his thrusts steady and deep, his hands roaming my sides before cupping my breasts and placing gently kisses along the edges. And then proceeded to close his mouth on one of my nipples through the lace.  

"Alec." 

He didn't reply, deciding to suck harder and scrape against the sensitive buds with his teeth instead. If he kept this up, I wasn't going to last long, and I think he knew it. He sat up again, but this time he angled my hips up and I was suddenly seeing stars. He was hitting my sweet spot now and I couldn't contain my moans any longer. I could feel it building, and building, and building.  

"Don't you dare stop." I panted. 

"Eyes on me, darling." He ordered, grabbing my face, and making me look him in the eyes. "I want to see the look in your eyes when I make you come on my cock." 

Oh, God. He was speaking to me in Italian, and I didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was saying, but it was hot. 

"Alec, please. Make me cum. I want to come." 

"Fuck, so tight for me." He thrust harder and I could feel the walls of my pussy starting to tighten up. "I want to see you come undone around me." 

"A-Alec!" 

He forced me to look up at him again as I came hard, legs wrapping around his waist as he nearly collapsed on top of me. If I was seeing stars before, now I was suddenly seeing a whole fucking galaxy. 

"Fuck." He kissed me deeply as I felt him spasming inside me, cool liquid coating the walls of my pussy. 

He hovered like that for a long moment, his kisses turning into soft, languid ones, his hands roaming in even softer caresses. Finally, he pulled out of me, and let his eyes wonder over me. I'm sure I looked a mess, but he seemed to like what he saw, judging by the smirk on his face. 

"Come, amore. Let's get you cleaned up." 

"I don't think I can walk." I closed my eyes, doing my best to breathe and not die from great sex. 

"I can definitely help you there." 

I nearly yelped as he lifted me from the bed bridal style. 

"Is this your way of saying you want shower sex?" I wriggled my eyebrows at him. 

"I had not really thought of it, but if you insist." 

I laughed and snuggled into his chest. 

He paused a moment, really looking me over now. "I am truly sorry, Y/N. For everything." 

I placed a hand on his cheek. "Apology accepted." 

NEXT - (Outtake)

{Masterlist}

Translation (Done via Google): Tesoro: Darling/Treasure  Mio Cara: My darling.  Principessa: Princess 

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[rxmqnova]

My little troublemaker

Y/N: 4 years old Lizzie: 19 years old ——————————————————

LIZZIE'S POV Having a little todler running around the house is not easy. Especially when you're only 19 and you're raising your child alone. The judging looks by other people when Y/N calls me 'mom' in the store or just somewhere in public aren't helping at all, but I wouldn't change a thing in my life.

Y/N wasn't planned at all. Her father left me right after I told him I want to keep her. He was quite rude about it which only made things so much harder, but I'm trying my best to give her as much love as I can. I know for sure she'll ask me the question about her dad in the future, but for now I'm trying my best to make up for both parents and to make sure she has everything she needs.

I do have an amazing family though. My parents and siblings are helping me as much as they can which I'll be forever grateful for. Also my daughter is the most amazing little human in the world. She's pretty smart on her age and thank god she's not one of those children who throw tantrums about everything.

Y/N and I had a movie night yesterday, so I'm not even surprised when I find myself surrounded by a bunch of blankets and Y/N's teddy bears after waking up. My eyes widen when I don't find my daughter underneath the blankets or anywhere in the room though. She's usually the one who wakes me up by laying her small body on mine and squishing my cheeks with her tiny hands.

"Y/N?" I look around the room once again, not seeing her anywhere. I immediately rush down the stairs to find her. "Oh my god, Y/N!" I raise my voice when I see her standing on a chair in the kitchen, a knife in her hand. I quickly lift her up, immediately taking the knife from her hand. "Honey, you could have hurt yourself. You can't use a knife without me knowing" I sigh, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Are you okay?"

"But I wanted to make you breakfast" She pouts, crossing her arms.

"Oh did you?" I raise an eyebrow which makes her giggle. Y/N nods with a smile, pointing at a piece of bread which is placed on the kitchen counter. "That's for me?"

"Yes, mama! You have to try!" She grins, happily kicking her legs.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I will try it out right now" I take the bread and sit down on a chair with Y/N on my lap. I take a bite, trying hard to pretend like it's really good. I don't know what's in this, but it really doesn't taste good.

"Do you like it?" Y/N asks with a huge smile, watching me carefully.

"It's really good, sweetheart. Thank you. It's so good that I'm gonna save it for later" I smile at her, Y/N nodding her head and smiling at me in response. "But what would you say on some pancakes now, hm?" I boop her nose which never fails and always makes her smile.

"Yay!" Y/N cheers, throwing her arms in the air.

———————————

"Mommy? Do I have a dad?" Y/N asks quietly, watching me with her big green eyes. I just tucked her in for bed and I definitely wasn't expecting this question tonight.

"I. Hm… You do have a dad, sweetheart. Why are you asking?" I give her a smile and brush a strand of hair behind her ear. She needs to know she can ask me or speak to me about everything.

"Because the boys from my preschool say it's weird to only have a mommy" She explains, adding a dramatic sigh to the end.

"It's not weird at all, honey. A lot of children have only a mommy or only a daddy. Sometimes it just happens, but it doesn't mean it's weird" I tell her, stroking her cheek with my finger.

"But why, mommy? Why isn't he here with us?" She asks, wrapping her little arms around my neck. I take a deep breath, thinking about what to tell her. But I think it'll be better to just tell her the truth somehow, even though it's not really nice.

"You know, baby… Your dad was very mean to mommy, so she decided she's better without him" I tell her honestly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I don't like him then. You are the bestest and nicest mommy in the world" Y/N pouts, making me wonder how did I get so lucky to have her as my daughter.

"I love you the most, my little monkey" I smile, pushing back my tears. Y/N's words really got me. "It's getting late now though and you need to get some sleep, so we can play all day tomorrow" I rub the tip of my nose against hers, making her smile.

"I love you, mama" She says, pouting her lips for a kiss. I peck her lips with a kiss before pulling up the covers to her chest. "Mommy, my teddy bear!" She suddenly gasps, looking around the bed to find her favorite teddy.

"I'll bring him. Stay here and don't move" I warn before standing up and walking to find Y/N's favorite teddy.

I make my way to the living room and as I expected, she left him there, so now I'm on my way back to the bedroom.

"I found him, baby. You left him in the-" I start, cutting myself off when I see Y/N sitting on the table in front of the window, her face and hands pressed against the glass. "Y/N, that's really dangerous. How did you get there?" I sigh, immediately lifting her up on which she whines.

"But there was a butterfly, mama" She pouts.

"A butterfly? Now? At night?" I raise an eyebrow on which Y/N nods. "That was probably a moth, sweetheart. But no climbing on the table when mama isn't with you, okay?"

"Yes, mama" Y/N says with that cute pout again.

"It's really time for bed now, my little troublemaker"

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

Elizabeth Olsen masterlist

Masterlist

[ijustwanttoreadfanfiction]

Friendly Sex - Chapter 11 - The Cheerleader

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay in uploading, life has been kicking my ass. Fingers crossed Chapter 12 will be up over the next couple of days, I thank each and every one of you for sticking through this with me. This chapter is very dialogue heavy, so apologies if that's not your vibe, and there isn't any smut. But we have lots of angst yay!

Chapter warnings: MDI (18+ only), explicit language, smoking, underage drinking (USA), ANGST.

_______________________________________________

You eventually give your dad the highly abridged version of events. You had been seeing a boy from school, the boy he disapproved of from the parking lot, which did not garner the best reaction, and that things had come to an abrupt and messy end.

Only your dad could cuddle the life out of you whilst simultaneously grounding you for the foreseeable, school and work being the only exceptions to the rule, otherwise you were on house arrest. You had spent the rest of the evening crying in his arms, whilst he muttered reassurances.

Monday rolled around overcast and dull, but you were exceptionally glad for the long weekend, finding it hard to believe what had happened within the last 72hrs. Your only plan was to spend the day stagnating in your own misery, so it’s a surprise when Robin turns up at your bedroom door just before 11am with a bag full of chocolate, you feel your bottom lip wobble at the sight of your best-friend.

“You look like shit.” She sighs, dropping heavily on the bed and taking you into her arms, smoothing out your ratted hair, rocking you back and forth. “Your dad called me, figured you needed some female support. I take it everything is fucked?”

“I’ve messed up so bad Robin, I - how could I do it to him?” You whimper tearfully, your throat constricted with sobs, head in her lap. “I can’t go to school tomorrow, I can’t face him.” You shudder, the guilt overwhelming you. “And then there’s Steve, everything is ruined.”

“Steve-? What about Steve?” She asks sharply.

Robin spent the next hour screaming down your phone to Steve, not even your dad dared telling her to moderate her language.

“Are you a fucking moron Harrington?! Have you learnt nothing?!”

“No - no don’t give me that shit. God, I can’t believe I'm friends with such an extraordinary idiot! I leave you alone for a day Steve, a goddamn day!”

“I don’t care dingus, you’re making this right - yes - yes you are. This is some real King Steve crap, you know that?!”

“Good, I'm glad you feel like shit, it’s nothing compared to how Y/n feels! And Eddie! - Of course I knew, unlike you I'm not a blind idiot.”

“She doesn’t want to talk to you. You should be talking to Nancy, you know your girlfriend?”

“Uh-huh - yeah - no I’ll walk - because I don’t wanna ride with you - the Russians are gone Steve - ok fine see you in the morning - but you’re still a douchebag.”

_______________________________________________

Your dad drops you to school the following morning, with a firm command that he would be picking up again at 4pm on the dot. You look rough, there’s no other word for it. Robin had coaxed you into taking a perfunctory shower for the sake of hygiene before she left, but you had gone to bed with your hair still wet; now haphazardly piled on your head like a bird’s nest, wearing your baggiest clothes as though the fabric could hide you from the world. You were so caught up in your misery that you walked straight into Dustin, his arms shooting out to steady you. Where there was Dustin there was Steve, leaning against the hood of his car looking guilty, Robin shooting daggers at him.

“You ok Y/n?” Dustin asks concerned.

“I’m good, thanks Dustin, sorry for -” You trail off gesturing at your collision.

“Oh it’s no biggie, I’m a strong guy, I can take it.” He grins toothily, sweet kid, patting you clumsily on the arm. Robin pushes Steve towards you, where he stands scruffing his sneakers against the asphalt in a most un-Steve-like fashion.

“Can we talk?” He asks quietly, not meeting your eye.

“I have nothing to say to you.” You say, crossing your arms defensively.

“Please, Y/n, I want - I want to make things right between us.” He pleads softly, you glance at Robin who nods in a ‘give him a chance’ sort of way.

“Fine, you get 10 minutes.” You huff, throwing yourself into the passenger seat.

There was a time, not so long ago, that you would have given anything to be sat alone with Steve in his precious BMW, now you feel borderline claustrophobic as he drives a little ways from the school, pulling off a small dirt road killing the engine.

“Thanks for agreeing to speak to me - it’s more than I deserve.” He sighs.

“You got that right, what the hell were you thinking?” You snap, staring resolutely out the passenger window.

“I wasn’t thinking, I just - I care so much about you honey -” Steve reasons, but you see red, cutting him off.

“You’ve got a funny way of showing it Steve, if you wanted to be mad at someone it should have been me, not Eddie.” You force his name out through clenched teeth, eyes once again swimming with tears. “So why now? Why the sudden interest?” You ask sharply, wiping angrily at your cheeks, turning to finally look at him. He’s slumped down in his seat, one hand pressed to his forehead.

“Things between me and Nancy haven’t been good lately, I thought after everything that happened last year we were back on track, but I think she just wanted some familiarity after Jonathon upped and left. The things that broke us up last time are still there, I want to work on them y’know but Nance - she just keeps pushing me away.” He says sadly.

“So you thought you’d ruin my relationship to make yourself feel better?” You snipe petulantly, not in the mood to listen to Steve’s woes.

“No - no that’s not what I wanted.” He sighs deeply again, sitting up straighter. “But - you were right yesterday, what you said about me not noticing you before, I took you for granted. These past two months you’ve been so talkative, and funny, and you just started to - I don’t know - shine?”

“Because of Eddie.” You mumble. 

“I guess so.” Steve nods slowly in agreement.

“So you noticed me and thought I'd just leap into your arms the minute you wanted me to?” You ask flatly.

“I thought - maybe if some random guy had a shot and things weren’t serious -” Steve struggles to find the words before nodding again, this time in defeat. “Yeah I guess that’s exactly what I thought.”

You snort in derision, picking at a small rip on the knee of your jeans, two months ago you would have run to Steve like a dog being called back to its owner and the thought makes you embarrassed. The hold he had over you and yet hadn’t even been aware of it.

“Stacey Sharp’s 14th birthday.” You mutter.

“Huh?” Steve asks blankly.

“That’s the day I fell in love with you. I was only there because I lived on the same street as her and Dad made me go. I was so afraid of the bigger kids so I just sat on the edge of the pool. Carol Perkins pushed me in, and I wasn’t a strong swimmer, you jumped in after me. Gave Carol a piece of your mind and helped me find a towel.” You talk quietly, like you might disturb the memory. “Then you walked me back to my house -”

“- your dad made us PB&J sandwiches, we ate them in your driveway.” He says slowly. “I remember. You - you’ve liked me for that long?” He asks, holding your gaze.

“Yeah, like I said, overlooked.” You say with a wry smile.

“Y/n, honey, I may have overlooked you romantically, but I’ve always valued your friendship.”

You lapse into strained silence, there was so much more to be said, but you were emotionally exhausted, stuck in some hellish purgatory.

“Can I - can I just try something? To be sure?” He asks jerkily.

“What?” You whisper, suddenly caught by the look in Steve’s eyes, it was a smouldering look that you had always wished would be thrown your way.

“Just - come here.” He sighs, leaning across the console.

You hold your breath as Steve moves closer, his hands lightly holding your face, eyes darting across your own. Was this actually happening? He licks his lower lip and you unconsciously mirror him, unsure who closes the remaining distance, mouth finally meeting yours in a light press. He tentatively deepens the kiss and the effect is instantaneous, both of you pulling back looking confusedly at each other, your chest heaving.

It was as though you were seeing him properly for the first time, gone was the little glowing golden aura that used to surround him, all that remained was plain old Steve.

“That - that felt weird right?” Steve asks, grimacing.

“Oh my god, so weird!” You gasp, pressing your lips together sheepishly to suppress a giggle. “It felt like I was kissing a relative.” 

“Yes! Exactly that!” He says with enthusiasm, sighing in relief that you aren’t upset. “What a mess huh?” He laughs wryly, as you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand.

“6 years of pining and we’re not even compatible!” You say laughing openly now, almost hysterical at the absolute bitch of a hand life had dealt you.

“Better as friends?” He asks hesitantly, chuckling along with you.

“100% better as friends.” You smile softly, Steve takes your hand, pressing an affectionate kiss to the back.

  The levity you feel is short-lived, whilst it’s wonderful to have your friendship with Steve semi back on track, your relationship with Eddie was still very much up in flames. 

“What am I gonna do Steve?” You mumble sadly.

“You talk to him.” He says plainly.

“He doesn’t want to talk to me, I’ll be lucky if he ever even breathes in my direction again.” You sigh, leaning heavily back into the seat, feet up on the dashboard, if Steve minds he has the sense not to reprimand you.

“You love him?” It’s not like the weekend when his tone was accusatory, this time it’s gentle and genuinely curious.

You chew at your thumb, ignoring the sharp sting from the already sore worried skin. That was the million dollar question, the one you had been pondering for weeks, the one you desperately wanted to answer, but slipped away from you every time. If you couldn’t be honest with Steve, how were you ever going to be honest with Eddie? 

“Yeah - yeah I think I do.” You say, the realization hitting you like a tonne of bricks.

“Then you gotta talk to him, no matter how hard it might be.” Steve advises.

“Ok, but you have to promise me something.” You say turning fully in your seat to face him. “Talk to Nancy, all that stuff you said to me at work about her, that’s still there too Steve.”

_______________________________________________

Steve had returned you to school with a hug, and a promise that he would have a heart to heart with Nancy. The rest of the morning grinds by at an agonizingly slow pace, but when the lunch bell finally rings you’re ready to cut and run, you don’t know if you can cope being in the cafeteria with Eddie, wondering if he hates you or not.

“You gotta eat something babe.” Robin sighs, nudging an apple in your direction.

“‘M not hungry.” You mumble, staring resolutely at the polished concrete floor.

“Tell that to your thumb.” She says, pulling it away from your mouth, wincing at how angry it looks.

You glance up, and immediately catch Eddie’s eye, heart beating frantically in response. He also appears to not be eating, barely engaged with the conversation around him, bags under his eyes and mouth pulled down in a small frown.

“I- I gotta go.” You blurt to Robin, already pushing yourself away from the table, practically sprinting the length of the room. You don’t stop running until you barrel into the girl’s bathroom, sobbing openly, arms braced on the porcelain sink, eyes squeezed shut, breathing hard.

“Y/n…? You ok?” A soft feminine voice jolts you, Chrissy Cunningham is hovering by a stall, looking concerned.

You push back from the sink, roughly wiping at your face with your sleeve.

“I’m - yeah I’m fine - Chrissy.” You stammer. “Thanks.” You add somewhat lamely.

Through the fog of your own misery you notice Chrissy’s cheeks are also wet, eyes similarly red, she’s shaking slightly leaning against the toilet door, pulling the sleeves of her cardigan over her hands.

“You ok?” You ask slowly, she nods quickly but alarmingly dissolves into tears. You surge forward surprising yourself, bringing her into your arms, she hugs you back tightly, her small frame quaking.

“J-Jason and I, we - we’ve broken up.” She cries.

Well shit, what fresh karmic hell is this? 

“But - you seemed so good together?” You say falteringly, if you were honest you had never paid much heed to Hawkins High’s power couple, your social standing allowed you to slip under the radar of most cliques and that suited you fine; but Jason and Chrissy always seemed like a perfect pairing, beautiful, popular, both generally well liked. 

“He’s been given a full sports scholarship at Syracuse in the fall, he doesn’t think it’ll work with the distance.” Chrissy sniffles.

“I’m so sorry Chrissy - he’s a massive dick if he’s not willing to try at least.” You soothe, allowing her space as she pulls back with the smallest of laughs.

“What about you?” She asks kindly, gesturing to your watery eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, just some boy trouble of my own, nothing I can’t handle.” You lie trying to sound casual.

She nods in understanding, pulling some toilet paper out for you both, she dabs delicately at her face whilst you drag the tissue over your eyes.

“I know we’ve never really spoken much, but I’ve always liked you Y/n.” She smiles shyly. “You should come to my pre-graduation party this weekend.” She offers.

“That’s really nice of you Chrissy, but I’m grounded, no parties for me.” You say awkwardly, throwing your used tissue into the trash can.

“Well if you manage to sneak out or something, it would be great to see you there.” She pulls you in for another hug, and you tentatively pat her on the back, feeling like you’ve fallen into the Twilight Zone.

Try as you might you don’t manage to see Eddie for the rest of the day, you’re tempted to go to the picnic bench at 4pm, risking a permanent grounding from your dad, but his van is already gone from the parking lot by the time you emerge..

You spend the rest of the evening crying intermittently in your room, the pattern broken only by Robin calling to see how things went with Steve.

_______________________________________________

Tuesday… 

Eddie avoids you in the corridors, turning resolutely in the opposite direction each time he spots you.

He’s not in the cafeteria at lunchtime, when you ask Dustin he says he’s busy with band stuff.

Wednesday…

Eddie ignores you when you call his name across the parking lot, striding to his van without a second glance.

Thursday…

You call Eddie’s house only for Wayne to answer.

“He’s not here darlin’, but I'll tell him you called.”

Friday…

You manage to corner Gareth in the library, dropping into a seat next to him, determined to speak to Eddie.

“Look, I don’t know what happened between you guys, but Eddie - he’s super cut up about it. He’s been throwing himself into practice but he’s not right.” Gareth whispers.

“I fucked up Gareth and I need to fix it, but I can’t do that unless I can speak to Eddie.” You say urgently, heads tucked tight together to avoid the wrath of Mrs Giles, the overbearing librarian.

“We’re playing The Hideout tomorrow night at 7.” He mumbles.

“You are literally the best.” You sigh in relief, throwing your arms around his neck, earning a small pat and blush from Gareth.

“Just do me a solid, maybe speak to him after our set, and not before? This could be a big gig for us.” He says cautiously.

You feel somewhat lighter as the school day draws to a close, knowing that you may finally be able to speak to Eddie, without him running off so easily. You go to collect your bag from your locker when a neon flier is thrust in front of your face, Chance from the basketball team grinning cockily at you.

“Hey there pretty girl. Wanna go to a bitchin’ party tomorrow?” He grins in what you believe is an attempt at a charming smile but it comes across as slightly seedy.

“Do people still say bitchin’?” You deadpan, snatching the flier without looking, stuffing it into your purse

“All the cool ones, yeah.” He laughs and you find yourself smiling falsely, squeezing past him. “So I’ll see you there?” He calls after you. You walk away without a word, focusing on the task ahead of you.

The minute you get home from school you call Steve at work.

“Family Video, Steve speaking, how may I help?”

“Steve, it’s me, and I need a favour.” You say quietly, making sure your bedroom door is shut tight.

“Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to enjoy this favour?” He asks in trepidation. 

“I’m grounded, but Eddie is playing at The Hideout tomorrow night, I need you to come pick me up at six-thirty and tell my dad I have to work the closing shift with you.”

“I dunno Y/n, lying to your dad, that’s a good way for me to get my ass kicked.” Steve says slowly. “Why don’t you just say you’re staying at Robin’s?”

“I’ve used Robin too many times, and he’s only letting me out of the house for school and work. Come on, Steve, you owe me this, please.” You plead, biting your lip. You hear him sigh heavily, as he works through his feelings of unease. 

“Alright, fine, but if your dad finds out, it’s your ass on the line.” He says finally.

_______________________________________________

Steve picks you up the following evening as agreed, your dad none the wiser as you leave in your work uniform, pressing a parting kiss to his cheek. You clamber into the back of Steve’s car, already stripping before you’re down the block swapping into the clothes you’d shoved into your purse.

“What are you doing?” Steve asks quickly, giving him an eyeful of your bra in the rear-view mirror as you slip a drop-shoulder top over your head.

“Changing.” You say obviously, wriggling out of your pants, hefting up your denim skirt. “Eyes on the road Harrington.” You grin, throwing your uniform into the trunk, applying blusher as steadily as you can.

“So am I picking you up or what?” Steve queries as you climb over into the front seat, making a noise of complaint when your heels make contact with the precious leather.

“If you’ve not heard from me by midnight, call my dad and tell him I’m crashing at your place with Robin.” You say, lining your lips. 

“And he’ll buy that?”.

“He may not like it, but yeah he’ll buy it.” 

“I don’t know about this honey - shouldn’t I stick around? What if you two have a fight again?” Steve asks in concern.

“Steve, given what happened the last time you saw each other, I don’t think Eddie is going to react very well if you rock up with me.” You huff, teasing your hair with the spare comb he keeps in the glove box.

“Fair.” He relents, grabbing the comb back in affectionate irritation. “But I still don’t like it.”

_______________________________________________

The parking lot for The Hideout is surprisingly busy, and it’s only when you walk in you realize why. The place is packed with your classmates, a big sign hanging from the ceiling that says ‘Class of 1986!’, you notice the vast majority of the cheer squad milling around and the penny drops, you’ve inadvertently crashed Chrissy Cunningham’s party.

“Y/n!” You hear your name, Gareth weaving his way through the crowd towards you.

“Gareth, you didn’t tell me this was Chrissy’s party!” You hiss.

“Does it matter?” He asks cluelessly. “We're on in like 10 minutes, I’ll make sure Eddie finds you after, ok?” He reassures, giving your arm a squeeze.

You hover debating on waiting outside but figure you better remain inside for Eddie. You heave a deep sigh, moving to the bar perching on a stool, legs jiggling nervously, you’re caught up in your thoughts when a sweet voice next to you speaks.

“Two diet cokes please. Oh my god Y/n! You came! Hi!” Chrissy Cunningham is standing next to you, leaning on the bar looking like pure heaven in a pretty light peach dress.

“Hi Chrissy” You say awkwardly, allowing her to embrace you. 

“Isn’t this place great? I was going to host the party at my house but my dad knows the owner, and then Eddie Munson offered to do a gig with his band Corroded Coffin. I haven’t seen them play since middle school!” She’s grinning from ear to ear, but all you hear is white noise, Eddie spoke to Chrissy? 

“I wouldn’t have thought Eddie’s music was your thing.” You ask weakly, head spinning.

“Oh they’re mostly doing covers tonight, Eddie’s been meeting with me every evening to go through the playlist, inviting me to their practices and stuff.” She rambles happily, you can only nod, heart hammering against your ribs. Eddie and Chrissy, of course she was single now.

“You here with Gareth? Was he the cause of your boy trouble? Have you made up?” Chrissy asks in rapid fire, and you’re beginning to suspect that someone might have a hip flask around adding something extra to the sodas.

“Gareth?” You repeat blankly, feeling detached from your voice.

“I saw you talking to him earlier, he’s cute.” She grins, the sound of electric guitars being plugged in stops you from answering. “Oh they’re starting! Come to the front with me!” She shouts, hauling you both towards the stage, you manage to hang back being slightly absorbed by the crowd.

You feel like you’re in a semi-catatonic state as the band finishes their tune up, Eddie’s voice ringing out through the mic in a screech of feedback.

“Uh - thanks for coming guys, we’re Corroded Coffin. Chrissy, this one's for you, ‘86 baby.” He says, grinning down from the stage to where she’s standing, the crowd going wild as they start to play some suped up version of Blondie’s Call Me.

You think you might throw up, limbs tingling unpleasantly, as you stagger to the bathroom. There are a group of girls you sort of recognise, sitting on the edges of the sinks drinking from a large bottle of vodka, and smoking.

“Can I get some of that?” You ask breathlessly pointing at the vodka.  

“The more the merrier!” One of the girls laughs, clearly trashed.

You drink a third like it’s water, ignoring the burn as it slides down your throat, desperate to numb the overwhelming panic in your chest. 

“We’ve got rum too.” Another girl says, already passing you the bottle, you hate rum but anything will do at this point, wishing you had told Steve to stay.

“This is shit, we should have gone to Carver’s party then we wouldn’t have to hide in a fucking bathroom to get wasted.” A girl you think is called Linda whines, pushing her tits up and down experimentally in the mirror.

“And I told you I lost the fucking flier with the address.” The girl who passed you the rum, shouts impatiently.

“Oh, I think I have one.” You say with a small hiccup, fishing about in your purse for the neon green paper Chase had given you yesterday.

“YES!” Linda screeches happily, snagging it from your hands. 

“You coming?” Rum girl asks you, gathering up the alcohol and shoving it into her bag while the others file out in disarray.

You shouldn’t, you should call Steve, you should go home, but your feet move of their own accord following the group out in a slight daze. Evidently you’d been in the bathroom for longer than you thought, the band were currently taking a break, mingling on the floor with everyone else.

Chrissy’s bell-like laugh echoes across the room, cutting through you like a knife, you see her delicate hand resting on Eddie’s chest leaning into him as he laughs along with her. You feel like you’re drowning, breath catching painfully, lip trembling as you swallow the pain down. Gareth says something to Eddie and he suddenly catches your eye, moving to approach you but you’re already heading towards the front door with the drunk girls.

“Y/n wait!” He calls, and you bolt, banging through the double doors, clambering into a car with the girls who laugh and scream as you all peel away from the building.

Taglist: @avalon-wolf @lolalanaie @eddiemunsonsgf2 @eddieslildarling @bakugouswh0r3 @sidthedollface2 @blueberrylemontea-fanfic @winchester-angel @bimbobaggins69 @tuskjohnny @fckyeahlames @thecomfortgoth @alanamarie @miarosso @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @somespicystuff @eddiethesexy @unfocused81 @1paire2vans @take-everything-you-can @mynameismothra @kingaa101 @ms1oftheboys @lfaewrites @corrodedcoffincumslut @emxxblog @briasnow-blog @bexreadstoomuch @munsonology @mulletmcghee @tanyaherondale @offensiunculae @

[lonely-north-star]

"okay so imagine"

I have these thoughts all the time, I wanna hear yours :3

HIIII LENI heheheh

me looking through my screenshots like "hmmm what can i ramble about" (bc everything happens on discord tbh)

putting it under a cut bc I YAPPED TOO MUCH

so funny you asked this though bc i was LITERALLY thinking about a reversed au inspire by this drawing that my mootie did- LIKE OKAY IT'S BEEN IN MY HEAD FOR A WHILE..BUT I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE LOGISTICS OF IT ATM AND OUTFIT CHOICES

okay so imagine solomams are roommates Mammon moved in after Asmo decided to travel) who summon Paula, and I'm making her a greed demon 🫵 secondary sin is gluttony. Why did they summon her?? We have yet to find out

okay so she's a demon right? they make pacts all the time, she probably can't leave until she fulfills SOME kind of request/contract for them. She's literally stuck there

but i imagine she really dislikes humans/is wary of them bc i was like "damn what if a past person ripped/cut off her wings" bc i love making myself sad ?!?! (I don't want to draw her wings)

and so she's like. Snappy and irritable and basically a scared cat is the best way to describe it. She's curious so she's snooping and messing with things, some things she's never seen before, but it's all so that they hurry up and give her a request so she can LEAVE. She wants to get OUT of there

i was also thinking she doesn't like having her back towards people, like she tries to keep herself facing people at all times (at least when in confined spaces. Other demons probably stare at her scars)

i think it'd be really funny if she sneaks out and follows either Mammon to work or Solomon to class. And just causes trouble. And people are staring at her bc she has horns and a tail and everyone is like "yooo sick cosplay bro how did you do that?!" which would obviously terrify her. Maybe leaving the house wasn't a good idea?

Mammon desperately dialing Solomon to come pick her up bc he's already on his third strike at this job and she isn't helping (ough. What if this gets him fired. Yay conflict.)

I have lots of thoughts churning in my brain over this. I think it'd be nice if they take her shopping for different clothes to try and cover her demon features. Horns are hard though, she is rejecting every hat they try to shove on her head

Also. Imagine Solomon offered up Mammon's bed instead of her using the couch. So funny, he def did it on purpose so Mammon could share with him. "And there was only one bed"

Anyway there is ONE (1) cute scene in my head of Solomon saying he needs to visit a crystal shop and Mammon whining he doesn't want to be left alone babysitting. So they drag her along. And she might complain on the way there, but the second they get there, she's all starry-eyed

She's so careful with interacting, even afraid to pick things up. Maybe gets real close to stare at spheres, but overall, she's really docile (?) and fascinated. They've never seen her like this. I think Mammon might clink two crystals near her just to see her reaction. Solomon might explain names and properties while she pretends not to be super interested. Blue sandstone catches her eye even though it's a man made crystal (maybe there's irony in that lol)

IM GONNA SHUT UP HAHAHA SORRY FOR THE ESSAY it was either this au or ANOTHER royalty au (this one. Might not have a happy ending who knows?)

almost all my "okay so imagine" have to do with my ship ajsjwjw sometimes .... sometimes i think about friends ships bc it's fun OKAY BYEEEE teehee thank you for stopping by

[dausy]

We said goodbye to our house. Packed up all the rest of our belongings into our 2 vehicles and are currently chilling in a hotel. If we had stayed another 2 days we wouldn’t get our money back for the rest of the month for who knows how long.

Yesterday we went out for dinner with a friend. Today we are going to go get our retiree ID cards and get the all clear to leave. We plan to hit the road tomorrow morning. It’ll be a long 11 hours across Texas. Tomorrow will be our longest day. Gonna go try and visit my grandpa in Houston as I haven’t seen him in years but he always posts hilarious things to my husbands Facebook. The two have never met. Then we are going to visit my husbands uncle in Mississippi and then we will make our way to Tennessee. I’m tired already and can already tell I’ll have to pee every 5 mins. Last time we did this because we are doing 2 vehicles, we found it easier to go old school and talk to each other via walkytalky. Also, my husbands headlights are messing up and we want to avoid driving at night because it’s hard to see.

I’ve already mispacked and couldn’t remember what bag I put my dogs stuff in, where I put my make up, where I put my charging cables etc lol

My dog seems hella confused and concerned.

The hotel we are at had requested we bring our kennel and my husband almost talked me out of bringing it because we’ve never needed it before. But I’m glad I left it out and brought it. The hotel practically had us put it together in the lobby so they could take photos of it. They must have had issues with pets in the past. I’m glad I kennel trained my dog. She hasn’t been in her kennel in a couple years and I literally forgot she was and was real nervous leaving her in her kennel in the room alone. She just went in and chilled. Yay me.

Our next journey is to find a place to rent and get out of my moms house asap because I just learned my brother was moving back home too and I love family and all but it makes me claustrophobic. I’d kind of like to rent a luxury apartment or home in a community that has a community pool and gym but alas..that might be out of reach. I start my new job in December and my husband has a tentative job offer from another company that also starts in December. We did the math on our finances and if everything goes as planned we could actually afford more than I’m comfortable spending. But I hesitate to bank on anything until the money is actually flowing in. I really just want it to be 6 months from now when we have all our belongings back and we are settled into a new routing where we both complain ‘I don’t want to go to work tomorrow T.T”

My husband still wants to try and sneak in a Washington DC trip too until we start work but I dunno if that’ll happen while we house hunt.

Anyway, happy travels tomorrow. I’m going to try to listen to a book I’ve been putting off but probably listen to trash tv podcasts the whole time.

[knockyasocksoff2022]

My Mother Ranks + Makes Assumptions About Bungou Stray Dogs Characters Based on ✨ViBeS✨ Alone: PART ONE

Armed Detective Agency Edition

Dazai is not here, I'm doing him as part od the Buraiha Trio.

I used the manga art of them since that is (in my opinion) closer to canon. I think that may have affected her decisions since she has a hard time telling their age since their drawings. Like she couldn't tell at all lmao.

I did tell her that the clothes they're wearing are their everyday clothes which suprised her a bit lol.

She's one of the "they're just DRAWINGS!" people so her rankings are kind of sadly low (T-T).

She thought all of them were "sharp, stlyish looking young adults."

(My thoughts on the rankings are in parenthesis)

Anyway on with the rankings.

FUKUZAWA YUKICHI 🐺

Name: Ren (? I do know for a fact that my mother thinks this is a cool name so I guess she thinsk Fukuzawa is a cool guy so yay?)

Age: 32

Outfit: 8/10

Hair: 10/10

Looks: 8/10

Role in the Story: Villain (I have no idea why she guessed this, but maybe it's because he's frowning and wearing kind of dark colors?)

Occupation: Marketing Manager for a retail chain (uh...okay I guess)

Ability (if applicable): Clothing control (???)

Sexual/ Romantic Oreintation: Straight

Relationship Status: Single

No Kids (he has sooo many kids tho, nice to see he's pulling off the whole 8 thing so effotleslsy he doesn't look a day over thirty)

---

EDOGAWA RANPO 🔎

Name: Marcel (??? idk even what to say, no words)

Age: 23

Outfit: 2/10

Hair: 5/10

Looks: 4/10

Role in the Story: Ordinary Person

Occupation: News Boy (completely fair tbh)

Ability (if applicable): N/A (I mean, she's technically not wrong)

Sexual/Romatic Orientation: Straight

Relationship Status: idk (rip Poe and their situationship I guess)

No Kids

---

YOSANO AKIKO 🦋

Name: Scarlet

Age: 26 (She got really close which was surprising since she was sooo far off with the others.)

Outfit: 7/10

Hair: 9/10

Looks: 9/10

Role in the Story: Hero (I though she'd pick ordinary perosbn honestly. I think Yosano's stance is just too powerful though.)

Occupation: Waitress but could be a Lawyer

Ability (if applicable): Yeah, but idk what

Sexual/Romatic Orientation: Straight

Relationship Status: Partnered

No Kids

---

KUNIKIDA DOPPO ✒️

Name: Troy (ewww wtf, sorry to people named Troy but just nO)

Age: 38

Outfit: 9/10 (she like the fit of the clothes but she didn't like the sleevless vest, which doens't make sense to me because I think it would look wird with sleeeves. liek a jacket would be too macthy-matchy, the black sleeves need to shwo for contrast.)

Hair: 9/10

Looks: 8/10

Role in the Story: Ordinary Person (I'm not suprised she pciked this since he does look like a pretty normal guy, maybe save for the hair.)

Occupation: Journalist (idk, maybe she thought that becau of the notebook, I might've guess teacher though.)

Ability (if applicable): Influence events by writing them down (very close, again kind of surprising. I guess him holding the notebook was a clue but she didn't explain her reasoning so idk)

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Straight

Relationship Status: Partnered

Has Kids

---

TAYAMA KATAI 🖥️

Warning for the Katai enjoyers: Mum was brutal with this one.

Name: Ohno (? huh? Okay . . . i guess?)

Age: 65 (original guess 55)

Outfit: 1/10 (yeah, the cropped trousers need to go, at least he isn't wearing socks.)

Hair: 3/10

Looks: 5/10

Role in the Story: Ordinary Person

Occupation: Neighbourhood bum (I mean . . . kinda? Probably if he ever actually left his house, then yeah.)

Ability (if applicable): N/A

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Straight

Relationship Status: Partnered

Kids

OTHER COMMENTS:

“I don’t know enough names to give him the kind of name I want to give him.” (she had to google names, I'm not sure what search prompt she put in though. However, given her otehr commenst I don't think she meant that positively.)

“Looks ordinary but probably isn’t.” (relating to the role in the story question: Is he: Hero Villian or anOrdinary Person?)

“He has a wife who hates him.” (I- 😭)

---

TANIZAKI JUNICHIROU 🌨️

Name: Tracy (yes, I told her that he is male because she did ask, which I guess is kind of fair given the illustration. I guess Tracy can be a guy's name too, idk I've never met a guy Tracy, but go off.)

Age: 24 (My mum reallly has no idea what age these characters are, I mean, I guess he could be 24. He definatley looks younger in the anime, or just next to the other characters. I think you have to see his demenour to really get it though, just standing still doesn't give away much.)

Outfit: 4/10 (My mum has something against feminie guys, so that's probably why.)

Hair: 6/10

Looks: 6/10

Role in the Story: Hero (I though she might guess Ordinary person)

Occupation: Dance Instructor (I guess it makes sense with the outfit, but still her guess suprised me.)

Ability (if applicable): Bulletproof, and he activates his powers by twirling (? She said it like it wasn't nessesarily a positive thing, probably because of her anti fem-boy agenda.)

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Not Straight (she really bro is NOT straight, whcih I mean I can kind of see.)

Relationship Status: Single

No Kids

---

TANIZAKI NAOMI ❤️

Name: Lena (pronounced Lee-nuh)

Age: 15 (original guess 19) (she changed her guess after I showed her the anime version, also because of the school uniform)

Outfit: 3/10 (Mum has something against sailor tops for some reason)

Hair: 9/10

Looks: 7/10

Role in the Story: Hero (I'd honestly thought that she might guess villain because of her sharp eyes and expression in the manga.)

Occupation: Student

Ability (if applicable): N/A

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Straight

Relationship Status: Single

No Kids

---

MIYAZAWA KENJI 🐄

Name: Fred (it kind of suits him actually lol)

Age: 22 (she siad her only cue for age was that she knows that bigger eyes usually indicate youth in illustrations)

Outfit: 4/10

Hair: 6/10

Looks: 7/10

Role in the Story: Hero

Occupation: Farmer (technically correct)

Ability (if applicable): communicate with birds (She said the illustration influenced her)

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Not Straight

Relationship Status: Single

No Kids

---

NAKAJIMA ATSUSHI 🌕

Name: Simon (again, it kind of fits)

Age: 29 (lmao)

Outfit: 3/10

Hair: 4/10 (I did show her the anime version for a better angle, and she didn't seem to mind it, OI though she give him like a one)

Looks: 8/10

Role in the Story: Ordinary Person (I htough she was going to pick Hero, but she isn;t that familar with anime so I guess eh doesn't know the MC always stands out with eitehr colourd hair or wild colthes rule)

Occupation: Singing Telegram (no words)

Ability (if applicable): N/A

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Not Straight

Relationship Status: Partnered

No Kids

OTHER COMMENTS:

"He probably has a boy friend who ~loves~ him." (said kind of sing-song. She thinks Atsushi is a sweet guy.)

---

IZUMI KYOUKA 🐇

Name: Miko (I think the traditional grament may have infulenced Mum's choice)

Age: 16 (pretty close, I actually though she was 16 when i first saw her)

Outfit: 10/10 (Fukuzawa also got a 10/10 so i think my Mum just likes the traditional garments)

Hair: 10/10

Looks: 10/10

Role in the Story: Hero

Occupation: Geisha, idk (uhhh., anyway, moving on.)

Ability (if applicable): She can turn her hair into a weapon.

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Straight

Relationship Status: Single

No Kids

[acefaun]

Sanderson Zodiacs

Synopsis: You’d been waiting all month for this moment. After much preparation with your zodiac boyfriends, it was time for the summoning! Of course, something that was all in good fun turned quickly into a night of distress when there were witches on the hunt for a starry-eyed goddess. 

✨Masterlist✨ Female goldfish!

A/n: Happy Halloween! 🎃 If you don’t have some crazy Halloween Party to go to, join these guys! We’re having our own Halloween Party! Let’s summon witches! Another glorious fanfiction! …Makes me sick! We got fanart with this one, YAY! It’s also my masterpiece thus far in my artistic journey, so I’m pretty proud of it! This is definitely going up on my facebook! 😚

–Word Count: 8,925–

The sky was barely getting a hint of that darker blue color the closer the sun drew to the horizon. The edge of the sky was starting to glow a dim orange color. It was almost time for a Halloween party-of-four! The other gods had to attend a ceremony in the Heavens where they would meet and greet with the returning souls of humans. The souls of the dead returning was a bigger event for the gods than it was for the humans of Earth, who treated it more as a game.

The only reason I was able to snag Ichthys, Dui, and Teorus was because they were the troublemakers of the two departments, and they wouldn't be sorely missed. Besides, my the zodiac gods wanted me to have a happy Halloween as well. I couldn't do that if I were home alone and moping… So what would be better than a Halloween party with a Hocus Pocus theme?

The mansion was elaborately decorated for the occasion. The entire mansion felt eerie, from the entrance all the way to the living room. The lights were turned off, replaced with light from candles, jack-o-lanterns, and the moonlight through the windows. There were cobwebs everywhere, but that only added to how old everything looked. Similar to how the outside of the mansion appeared to be falling apart, the inside matched perfectly. The once-clean marble was replaced with planks of wood, and the wallpaper was peeling everywhere. It would’ve been scary the way it was without the addition of a light fog that rolled across the floor. 

It seemed my additional plastic trinkets weren’t going to be necessary for this party. Walking into the living room, I paused, taking in the equally spooky atmosphere. It might’ve seemed more welcoming if Ichthys, Dui, and Teorus would have been there like they promised. But my eyes locked onto something that was set up on a wide coffee table. Was that the book from Hocus Pocus?! I bolted over to kneel on the floor as I eagerly flipped through the book. It was everything like the movie. It left me wondering if they actually stole these props. 

Too occupied with the realistic book, I hadn’t noticed anyone was there until arms wrapped around me from behind. I don’t think I would’ve been so scared if it weren’t three pairs of hands gripping at me, forcing a startled shriek from my lips. Though, it only took a moment for me to recognize who was harassing me.

My eyes narrowed as I both heard and felt Ichthys’ laughter from behind me. His head leaned against my shoulder, his tongue sticking out playfully. “We got you! Happy Halloween!”

Pouting, I tugged out of their hands, finding that all of them were in on Ichthys’ prank. “Not fair… You guys nearly gave me a heart attack! You can’t just gang up on me like this when the mansion’s all scary-looking.” If the mansion didn’t look like it could pass for a haunted house, I wouldn’t be so jumpy. “Well… Anyway, whatever! Did you guys get this stuff from the movie?”

“We actually got the book from the Heavens,” Dui explained, though he didn’t look too comfortable about the memory of it.

Ichthys, on the other hand, was grinning as if this was his biggest achievement in life. “It took really hard work to take this from the palace without anyone noticing. Luckily, everyone was pretty occupied with other things today.”

Teorus nodded his head in agreement, but he appeared more on Dui’s side of things. Neither of them seemed comfortable with the lengths they had to go through to get the book. “It was actually in the forbidden section,” Teorus added, “So, while it wasn’t hard for us to get in… it was hard to smuggle it out without getting caught.”

Ichthys grinned at their successful heist of the library as he held out a candle made with pale wax. My mind was quick to recognize that as well, and I exclaimed, “You got the spell book and a black flame candle?!”

Dui nodded, a smile spreading across his face thanks to my contagious excitement. “We followed the ingredients from the book, so it’s an authentic black-flame candle. So… uh,” he paused, tilting his head. The ingredients didn’t seem too special in creating a black flame, but what did he know about witchy stuff? “It should have a black flame. And there’s only one way to test it.”

“Ah,” I praised nervously, “I have chills; this is so cool! You guys are the best! Just- You have to promise you won’t take advantage and try and scare me!” My eyes were evenly trained on them to make sure they heeded my warning. I didn’t need to have more heart attacks than I could handle in the spooky mansion. 

Teorus pat my head like a child and reassured, “We won’t do anything scary. But after we do our ritual, we can dress up and go trick-or-treating! (Name), do people give out milk for Halloween?”

I fell silent at his odd question. Last time I checked… no one in their right mind would give out milk for Halloween. But who was I to crush his dreams? “Well, there’s such thing as candy that’s made with milk. Like… milk chocolate? Yeah. So you’ll get candy-milk! That’s it!”

His eyes began to glow with excitement as he grabbed my arm, pulling me over to the small coffee table where they had their candles ready. “Come on, virgin! Light our candle so we can go get milk candy from humans!”

My eyebrows furrowed together, half-glaring at him. I lightly smacked his hand off of mine as he pulled me to kneel on the floor with him. “Don’t start calling me a virgin, weirdo!” Huffing, I gestured for Ichthys and Dui to join us on the opposite side of the rectangular table. “Let’s get the party started then! How does that saying go again…? On All Hallow’s Eve, when the moon is round, a virgin will summon them from under the ground!” 

Grabbing one of the longer candle sticks, I used the small flame to carefully light the candle that was sitting on the table. Almost instantaneously, a black flame was atop the candle, and we all stared at it in wonder. Ichthys was the first to make a comment, “Hey, Dui, I guess this makes you a witch now! You can make magic candles!”

I would’ve made a joke to go along, but I couldn’t help but feel unsettled… as if something weren’t quite right in the air. Teorus also had an expression that told me he felt something off.

After a quiet moment, all the candles went out in the room suddenly, and I latched onto Teorus like my life depended on it. I shouted accusingly, “You said you wouldn't play more pranks and scare me!”

“Ichthys?” Dui called the pisces for an explanation.

“It wasn’t me,” he quickly tried to defend himself. Or… maybe it was? He definitely didn’t turn out all the lights, though! “Teo, did you do this just so (Name) would jump on you?”

“No way,” Teorus argued, though he wasn’t going to be one to complain that I latched onto him for protection. Needless to say, it wasn’t any of us that did it… “Maybe it was a gust of wind?”

I pulled back, trying my best to give him a questioning look despite how dark it was. “Really? A gust of wind strong enough to blow out the fire place inside the mansion?” It sounded like the most ridiculous things ever, but it was better than the other possibility… My eyes popped open as the flames suddenly reappeared on the surrounding candles, the black flame still lit as it was before. My limbs started trembling as I wondered if this was like the movie. I didn’t want to die!

“Hey…” Dui muttered, our eyes scanning the still room. “I don't have a very good feeling about this…”

If the gods were uneasy about this entire thing, then how was I supposed to feel? But glancing around the room, I quietly asked, “If things do go south… the mansion is considered hallowed ground, right? Even if they wanted to… witches couldn’t come in… right?” 

“Well…” Ichthys scratched the back of his head, drawing glares from both Dui and Teorus. Ichthys, yet again, did something he wasn’t supposed to, therefore putting all of us in unnecessary danger. Well, that’s what his face was telling us. But seeing our expressions, he quickly tried to brush it off, “It’s not like I completely masked the divinity of the mansion. I just wanted to make it feel more scary in here. But… if all else fails, we can always escape to the Heavens, or just hide in our rooms.”

“Right,” I snapped, gesturing around the room. “Let’s just escape to the Heavens while the witches are feasting on children and becoming eternally youthful! Perfect plan from the gods in charge of protecting humanity!”

Dui tried patting my head to get me to calm down. We were all pretty high-strung with the way our ‘perfect’ night was going, but we didn’t need to be fighting. “Calm down, guys. The obvious answer to our problem is just to keep the book away from them until the sun rises. We’re gods. They’ll never find us.”

I nodded my head, agreeing with Dui’s logic. Just based on the movie, we already had a higher chance of success. We knew exactly how to beat them. Despite the comfort of having a sound battle plan, my heart leapt in my chest as we heard the echoes of cackling filling the empty mansion. Weakly, I muttered, “It’s the Sanderson sisters…” 

We all watched the door in apprehension as a voice exclaimed, “What a disgustingly large house… BOOOK!” 

I flinched, snatching the book out of the air before it could fly out of the living room. Dui pulled me out of sight behind a bookshelf just in time for the doors of the living room to burst open and reveal the three ancient witches. I didn’t have time to see where Ichthys or Teorus were hiding before Dui pulled me into hiding, but I hoped they stayed hidden and unnoticed wherever they were. 

Sarah danced around the room, her arms flinging her sleeves around as she sang, “A virgin lit the candle again, Winnie!”

“Ah,” Winifred gleamed at the black flame that sat on the table amongst the other seemingly useless knickknacks. “It seems they did. Which means… they have my book. Mary!”

“Yes, Winnie?” Mary and Sarah listened intently to their sister’s orders. I watched them quietly from behind the bookshelf, but I knew we couldn’t stay there forever. They were searching around the room pretty thoroughly, starting from the middle.

Winifred gestured around the room for them to get searching. “Sniff our little virgin out.”

I wasn’t the only one who figured out that by Mary sniffing closer to the candle, she would get my scent first. Then it would only be a matter of time before they found our hiding spot. Dui caught onto this predicament and held me closer in case he needed to make any sudden moves to get me out of danger.

We waited with bated breath for them to do something or say anything more. I leaned closer against Dui, trying to make us smaller and less noticeable. 

“Winnie…” Mary called with a subtle smile, her eyes flickering around the room. “I smell… children.” Though, she didn’t look like she had an exact location. I figured it was probably because Teorus and Ichthys were hiding elsewhere, so our scents were probably a little everywhere. I was sure that was some kind of plus, but I knew better than to think that a witch whose power was in her nose wouldn’t be able to figure things out. Based on the movie, their goal was usually to find the youngest one. Unfortunately, that meant me—who was also their black-flame virgin, as well as the current holder of their precious book. Aside from Ichthys being the youngest god, I was less than a fraction of their age. Still, when it boiled down to it, we were all considerably younger than any of the other gods; I was sure that fact alone made all of us targets.

With the witches drawing steadily closer to us, however, Dui firmly wrapped his arms around me, ready to get me out of harm’s way at a moment’s notice. But as if to save us the trouble of getting caught, Ichthys was the first to burst out from where he was hiding. “Hey!” Seeing the witches in person for the first time, he hummed, shaking his head. “Yeah, you’re not as pretty as I thought you’d be. You should definitely leave this place before we kick you out.”

Despite Sarah and Mary fretting over a boy, Winifred seemed surprised to see Ichthys… as if she knew him. But she wasn’t faltering in the face of this newcomer. In fact, she sounded quite familiar as she hissed, “Ah, a pesky little god. I could only imagine how sweet a soul like yours might taste.” 

Before she could attempt to attack Ichthys, Teorus distracted her, throwing a plastic skull at her. “Why don’t you witches go fight someone your own strength? You think you stand a chance against gods?”

As much as the three witches were interested in the power of the gods, it was too bad they were outnumbered four to three. But… two gods were sure to do the trick against three witches, right? At least, that was what was going through Teorus’ mind as he shouted, “Dui, run!” 

Fleeing with the book made sense and was really the only choice we had here. But how were we supposed to flee when we had the full attention of those witches who were quick to corner us? 

Dui seemed to have the same doubt of mind as I did, since he made sure I was behind him as we faced off with the two younger sisters. Teorus and Ichthys were occupied by Winifred, who was waiting for Sarah and Mary to retrieve her book from me—or freed from me, at least.

“H- Hang on,” Dui weakly said, hesitant to face the two surely powerless witches. “I don’t want to hit ladies… Plus, I’m a god; I could really hurt you. You should stay away from (Name), or else we won’t be gentle.”

“We?” Mary couldn’t help but chuckle at how I seemed to hide further behind Dui. This seemed like an easy hurdle to jump, in their opinion. “Your little friend might have trouble keeping hold of that book.”

The minute they tried to distract Dui by going separate directions around him. After all, Dui couldn’t stop both of them at the same time… right? 

Oh, how wrong they were to underestimate a god. Dui’s expression shifted, and a scowl crossed his face as he glowered at them. “That softie wasn’t talking about the goldfish!” Snapping his fingers, the two witches were shoved back a decent distance from me. But, he knew that wouldn’t get rid of the problem. Turning, I flinched as Shadow Dui glared at me, snapping, “What are you waiting for, idiot? Go to the Heavens. I thought the whole point of this god-damn fight was so they don’t get that book.” 

He was right… but I was too alarmed to leave their side. Well, that wasn’t exactly the problem either. I quickly exclaimed, “But I can’t go through the door without one of you, and- and that wouldn’t stop them from causing trouble on Earth!” My eyes flickered to Ichthys and Teorus, but they didn’t look like they’d be able to slip away without giving Winifred an opening to come after her book. My grip tightened around the living book in my arms. 

These witches were just humans, when it came down to it. Sure, my gods weren’t as powerful as usually because of the general darkness and negative energy of Halloween night, but we still had to overpower these guys! Well, that’s the optimism I was going off of, anyway.

Dui hissed, “Then we’re just going to have to get you into a freaking church!” He sounded sarcastic, but if we couldn’t leave Earth, and we had to keep the book away from the witches, then his suggestion sounded like the best option. After all, the goal of the Sanderson sisters wasn’t to catch childish gods; their goal was to get their book back so they could make their youth potion. Their dilemma was that they couldn’t make their potion without their book, and I wasn’t planning on letting it go anytime soon. 

“Agh~”

A sudden shout made everyone pause, the room falling silent. My wide eyes flickered to where Teorus and Ichthys were once fighting Winifred. “Ichthys…?” I apprehensively called out. He was in pain and he was… shrinking?

Right before our eyes, Ichthys shrunk into a black cat. We weren’t really sure what to expect from a witch turning a god into an animal, but Ichthys’ laughter rang out through the room as if this were just some funny game. “Wow,” he cheered, “now it’s just like the movie, huh?” 

Winifred smiled triumphantly over the defeated god. “Well, meddlesome god down… two more to go.” Her powers were able to best a god, further securing their position as the most powerful witches in history. 

While the situation wasn’t as fun as he was making it out to be… that was, indeed, an Ichthys response to danger. It only made me warily sigh, while Shadow Dui snarled, “You damn fish!”

Teorus relented, stepping between Ichthys and Winifred. “There’s nothing we can do now. Ichthys, go help (Name)!” 

“I’m on it!” Ichthys agreed without hesitation, swapping places with Dui who worked on distracting the sisters with Teorus. Bolting past me, Ichthys encouraged, “C’mon, (Name). I don’t have hands to open doors anymore; keep up!” 

I rolled my eyes, frantically following him through the dim halls of the mansion, opening doors per his directions until we finally made it out of the mansion's front door. I absolutely wasn’t made to be running around like this… 

Ichthys, on the other hand, seemed like he was living for every second of this excitement. Irritated, I snapped at him, “Stop enjoying this!” This was far worse than the movie, in my opinion. The movie didn’t show that they could overpower even gods on Halloween night! Besides, what good was Ichthys as a cat? Ichthys couldn’t fight back like this. Not to mention if Winifred did that to Teorus and Dui… “Ichthys,” I murmured as we slowed our pace to a walk, “we need help from the other gods.”

“Don’t worry,” he responded quite confidently. “You’ve got me, Dui, and Teo.”

I shot him an uncertain glare. “You mean I have Dui and Teo. What good are you? You can’t even fix yourself.”

“Hey…” Ichthys sounded disappointed that I thought so little of him. “I might be smaller, but I’m still a god. I might’ve had my guard down around some humans, but when it comes to keeping you safe, I’m giving you my all.”

“I…” I faltered, exhaling tiredly. “I’m sorry. I know you are. It’s just that this isn’t about me. This book puts everyone in danger. I’m starting to have my suspicions about why it was locked up in the Heavens.”

“Yeah,” Ichthys uttered, his ears falling. It was a slight movement, but it was enough for me to notice as he sullenly added, “I guess I messed up pretty big this time.”

Noting the heavy mood that was suddenly bearing over us, I suggested cheerfully, “It’s like you said, isn’t it? This is like the movie. What do three old hags have against modern gods? Besides, there’s no mess you can make that we can’t clean up. Haven’t all your years in the Department of Punishments taught you that?”

I smiled as I heard him chuckle. That’s right, there was no point in being negative. We had to do what we could, given the circumstances. At least he seemed more cheerful, as our destination was whatever church we came across first. 

We had a good plan, everything was figured out, and we were sure we would make it until morning. If only more trouble wasn’t stirred up the closer we got to the tree line. What kind of luck did we have to emerge head first into two dark gods? 

Crow and Servillah were loitering around the forest, which was brimming with dark energy on Halloween night. However, even they seemed thoroughly surprised to find me, the ex-goddess, running straight into them. They never in their wildest dreams expected me to walk right into their arms. 

Though, we were both seemingly at a loss for words to exchange. Face-to-face with each other, there was awkward silence. 

After a brief moment, having had time to comprehend the current situation, the dark gods were more than pleased. Crow grinned, the first to speak. “I can’t believe some dimwitted goddess like you actually had the gull to come into a forest brimming with dark energy!”

Before I had a chance to escape their presence, Servillah grabbed my shoulder, jerking me towards them. The sudden motion along with the way his fingers dug into my skin made me wince and cry out, “O- Ow!”

Seeing me in pain, Ichthys hissed defensively, lunging into Servillah’s face with his claws extended. The dark god was easily startled, quickly releasing me in favor of prying the cat off of his face. “Wait,” Crow ushered the other dark god to be still so he could help. 

With Ichthys serving as a distraction, I stumbled away from the two dark gods, scrambling behind a tree and staring at them with wide eyes. 

“Stupid beast!” Servillah growled at the cat as Crow finally pried Ichthys off of him, throwing him to the ground. 

The two dark gods were about to approach me again, when Ichthys darted between us, interrupting, “I’m not going to let you lay a hand on her! (Name), stay behind me!” 

Both of the dark gods were surprised by the cat speaking; but they were no less pleased with the amusing situation as they realized… this creature before them was a god.

Servillah regarded his friend, “Hey, Crow… How do you suppose a god snaps his fingers… when he doesn’t have any fingers?”

Crow, grinning, replied, “I suppose… he doesn’t.” There was a pause as the two seemed to register the situation as they spotted the all-too-familiar book in my arms. “Those Sanderson witches scared you straight into our waiting grasp, did they? Regardless of how they were resurrected this time round, I guess we’ll have to give them a little reward for their good work. Now, goddess, don’t do anything stupid and come with us.”

Seeing that they were going to grab for me once again, I was quick to use the book as a weapon of self-defense. At least I wasn’t alone, and that was a comforting thought as Ichthys helped in fending off Crow from one side while I took my chances swinging the heavy book at Servillah. 

Of course, our defenses could only last so long before the book was knocked out of my hands. I was sure I was on the verge of being snatched away to the Under Realm before my saviors showed up.

Dui and Teorus arrived just in time to scare the dark gods away—though it took a little convincing, via their powers. 

After our momentary success, Ichthys then glanced between the two other gods curiously. “Hey, you guys were pretty fast. How did you two manage to get away from all three of the witches?”

Teorus smiled as if it were nothing and explained, “Well, our powers are a little weak on Halloween, but we still had enough power in the mansion to make a bunch of voice-activated books that would respond to Winifred’s voice… So those three are going through a bunch of books right now.”

Smugly, Dui added, “They’ll have to go through them one by one to find out they’re all made with divine power. Though, I doubt it will hold them up long with the dark gods suddenly around.”

Ichthys excitedly said, “At least this gives us time to come up with some sort of counter plan.”

“I- I don’t think it does,” I said, sounding particularly nervous as I revealed the fault in our position, “The dark gods took the book…”

“What?!” The three gods were shocked. Though, Ichthys was looking disappointed again, his head drooping as he mourned, “I messed up again. I couldn’t keep you safe or keep the book from falling into their hands.” 

Teorus comforted, “It’s okay, Ikky. It’s not like it’s all your fault. Besides, you protected (Name) until we got here to help. You did what you could.” He sighed. “We should have been more careful and really checked this stuff out before stealing from the palace library.”

“Right…” Dui sorrowfully agreed, “We could have just taken the things from the movie, like (Name) said.” He winced. “Meaning… we should probably fix all of this before Zyglavis finds out.”

“Then our goal is to get the book back and protect the humans!” Ichthys nodded, pausing in thought. “Should we sneak back into the mansion?”

“I don’t think the witches would stay there, though, would they?” Teorus tilted his head with furrowed eyebrows as we tried to work through this problem of ours.

I shrugged my shoulders in silent response. “Maybe we could give it a look? It’s gotta be better than standing around waiting to figure out what to do.”

“I agree with Teo,” Dui offered his opinion. “I don’t think they’d stay at the mansion for longer than necessary—especially if those dark gods are helping them now. If they stayed in the mansion too long, not only would it hurt them, but it would also alert the other gods in the Heavens.”

Ichthys sighed, his tail wavering behind him as he sat on the ground. “While that might help us… I don’t really want to face Zyglavis’ wrath for freeing ancient witches…”

“Well, I’ll take Leo’s wrath over losing (Name),” Teorus decided with a firm pout. “They would all be more powerful, just coming from the Heavens. Being on Earth on the darkest night of the year hasn’t been very helpful for replenishing our powers. Otherwise, we’d have already turned you back, Ikky.”

“I guess you’re right,” Ichthys reluctantly agreed. “But they’d have to notice something was wrong first, and who knows if that’ll happen.” He exhaled again. “Let’s start by scanning nearby areas for dark power. We’ll be able to single out where those witches went from there.”

***

Hours passed, searching ceaselessly for the three witches and the dark gods, but nothing came up in their search. 

“All this walking around, and we haven’t found anything,” I griped, growing frustrated as I followed along the road with the two gods and the cat. “It’s not like they’re summoning children or anything like in the movie, otherwise we’d be able to find them easily—follow the zombie children to their secret witch hide-out. But… also… if they’re not eating children by now… what are they doing?”

Dui shrugged tiredly, his shoulders sagging. “I’m not sure… but this going in and out of places with dark energy is getting really draining. At this rate, we might become like Ichthys.”

Teorus added, “I wish we could have just gone trick-or-treating with you instead, (Name). I was really looking forward to getting that milk chocolate stuff you were talking about.”

Ichthys nodded his head as he bemoaned, “Yeah, it would’ve been super fun to dress up in costumes and walk around Earth with all the humans. I bet I could’ve played some awesome pranks tonight.”

“I feel like we’ve been trick-or-treating for witches, going from place to place with no results,” I pouted, compared our long night of witch-hunting to trick-or-treating, though the two really weren’t anything alike. “It’s not fair that we can’t seem to get good or bad results. There haven’t been any tricks or treats all night. That’s not how trick-or-treating works!” 

“Trick-or-treat!”

“Waah~” I felt like the air was knocked out of me all at once as my body was lifted off of the ground suddenly, an arm crushing around my rib cage. I wanted the arm to release me, but at the same time, I had no idea how high I was dangling in the air. 

The only thing that revealed my position was the cackling of the three Sanderson sisters. As quick as I was taken, the gods tried to race to my side in a panic. Only… they found that they couldn’t fly to my rescue. Teorus’ eyes were wide as he sputtered, “H- Huh…? Hey, why can’t we fly now? The dark energy shouldn’t be making us this weak.” 

“The gods haven’t realized they were cursed…” Sarah softly sung, “The little goddess has been draining your powers all night.” 

The gods were confused, but I was even more so. “I- I haven’t,” I argued. Surely one of us would have recognized something like that. But it was growing hard to keep my optimistic thoughts with me when I could have been the cause of their weakness. We needed answers. “What are you talking about…?”

“Ah, but you have.” Winifred drawled. “Our dear companions put it on you when they first had you in their grasp. Mary,” she demanded, gesturing for her sister to prove it.

Then, Mary lowered my collar, exposing a dark tattoo on my shoulder. It seemed like such an obvious place, but of course we never would have been looking for something like that on me. 

Dui’s eyes widened as he muttered, “A curse… We never even noticed…” He looked exceedingly guilty for missing something so important. 

“No wonder we were so weak,” Teorus lamented. “We couldn’t even help Ichthys because of that thing. It’s been draining our powers, it wasn’t the dark energy on Earth to blame.” 

Sarah chirped, “Now they understand.” 

“Let us go!” Winifred ordered, “We can’t have this little goddess slipping away from us again.”

The gods were clearly fearful as they watched the witches fly away with me. Ichthys hopped onto Dui’s shoulder, doing his best to get as close to me as possible as he yelled, “We’ll be right behind you, (Name)! We’re coming!” 

The three gods would never leave me with witches and dark gods to steal my soul. Now, however, Ichthys was kind of wishing for Zyglavis to hurry down to Earth with all his wrath. 

***

Midnight… It was officially midnight; meaning, that it was November 1st. The other gods had to collectively agree that they were relieved to finally be done with their long night of Halloween. 

Tauxolouve sighed, complaining, “Why does it feel like All Hallow’s Eve lasted longer this year?”

Aigonotus nodded in agreement, his head leaning to rest on Tauxolouve’s shoulder. “There were way too many spirits to talk to this year…” He grumbled tiredly, “I can’t wait to see (Name).” 

Karno pointed out with a knowing smile, “You just want to use her lap as a pillow, don’t you?” Wordlessly, Aigonorus nodded his head in acknowledgement. It was pretty obvious what his intentions were.

Krioff added in confusion, “Shouldn’t (Name) be sleeping right now? You better not wake her up.” 

Partheno nodded with a slight shrug. “Perhaps… Trick-or-treating is over, in any case, and I’m sure she had her hands absolutely full with those three.” 

However, as the three wishes gods and two punishments gods walked into the mansion, they have to pause, finding Huedhaut and Leon neck to neck with Zyglavis and Scorpio. While the sight wasn’t that uncommon between the two ministers, there was an odd feeling in the mansion that wasn’t so familiar. Not to mention, it looked very eerie, like an actual haunted house. 

Though everyone was tense and silent, Karno was the first to address it. “What’s going on here?”

Leon’s sharp eyes shot to Karno. “Those troublesome-”

“Those three stole a very important book from the Heavens for (Name),” Huedhaut interrupted Leon with a powerfully frightening scowl of his own. Moments like these, Huedhaut looked like he belonged in the Department of Punishments. “While their intentions were well, they should have known better than to summon witches.”

“Witches…?” Aigonorus was wide away with that startling news. His nose scrunched up. “Where’s (Name)?”

Zyglavis’ eyes darkened. “We’re searching for all of them now. Let me be clear, we’re not dealing with anything relatively good. These particular witches have been on the Punishment’s list for centuries, as they are in cahoots with the dark gods; the Dark King being the master they serve.”

Leon added, “This dark presence in the mansion can only mean that there’s been trouble.” 

The gods were clearly frustrated that they had this problem running around Earth once again. Scorpio criticized them, “They honestly thought it was just a movie? Stupid problem children… Stupid goldfish… If it were just a movie, we wouldn’t have had that stupid book locked away in the Heavens.” 

Tauxolouve sighed, asking, “Well, should we find and help them?”

Irritated, Leon answered, “We need to clean up this mess around the mansion first. If we don’t get rid of this dark energy now, we won’t be able to help anyone.”

“Besides,” Krioff said bluntly, however helpfully, “The sun’s going to come up in a few hours. Won’t those witches just turn to dust?”

Zyglavis sighed, rubbing his forehead. Everyone was sure he would refute that and explain that movies aren’t accurate, but he surprised them with an affirmative answer, “That’s right, but there are still hours left until then, and we should prepare for the worst.” 

“But hope for the best,” Tauxolouve added optimistically. Of course, all the gods knew I wouldn’t fold to any old witches when I tended to put them, gods, in their places almost on a daily basis.

***

The air was suffocatingly still. The only sound to be heard in the silence was the cawing of crows along with the murmurs of the witches and dark gods a short distance away from me.

I was nervous to be tied to a chair in the middle of a forest, somewhere that would likely take Ichthys, Teorus, and Dui a while to reach since they weren’t able to fly. Not to mention, the dark gods were there too, likely deciding what to do next with me. The sun was still a few hours away from rising, I knew, but it couldn’t come fast enough. I was stuck with these witches until then…

Servillah observed me from where he stood, noting that I was stubbornly refusing to meet their gazes or acknowledge their presence. Still, in my position, I wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. “Good,” he commented, “Now that we’re certain she can’t move… We’re going to take care of those pesky gods and make sure they doing interfere. You three take care of the ritual to summon the Dark King. When we come back… we can get started. I’m sure her soul will be ready by then.”

Watching the two dark gods leave, we were once again left in uncomfortable silence as the witches prepared their potions and spells. Clearly, there was still work to be done before they would use my soul. But… maybe I could stall them. 

“Y- You know…” I stuttered, trying to convince the witches to spill their plans. “You’re not being very good villains.”

“I thought…” Sarah uttered, glancing worriedly between her two sisters, “we were being really evil witches…”

With their skeptical expressions, I took my chance to continue, clearly having them with hook and bait. “What I mean to say… is… that typically, in modern times, there’s usually an evil monologue. You know, to hype up your purpose for doing… whatever it is you’re doing; and… I don’t know, scare your captive by giving them a scary overview of what’s happening?” I was only slightly confident in this distraction plan, but the worst they could say was no… right?

Seeing them huddle together, I pursed my lips as I watched them deliberate over my words. But finally, they turned back to me with wicked grins. Winifred started, “Very well, little goddess. Our master would be pleased to have a trembling goddess at his feet when he returns.”

I flinched in surprise—though, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. So, they were going to bring back the Dark King. They were serious about it… and I supposed this was a perfect place for it. I didn’t have to act apprehensive as I asked this time, “You’re… not talking about who I think you’re talking about… Are you?”

“Yes,” Winifred only smirked as she answered me. This ‘villain’ role and getting their captive to tremble in fear was quite simple. 

Mary added with a hungry grin. “We’re going to get a filling portion of thine soul for catching thee from those pesky gods.”

Sarah sighed happily over my shoulder, “What a delicious soul our little reborn goddess must have…” 

“But,” Winifred paused. “Let us explain why the little goddess is so special, hm? Even just a small portion of thy divine soul shall grant us eternal youth!”

“We’ll be young and beautiful forever!” Sarah danced giddily. 

They were too excited over this… I had to keep stalling, pressing for as much information as they were willing to spill. “My gods would never let you get away with this!” 

Mary wheezed out a laugh as she pointed out, “Your soul is going to resurrect the dark lord… and those gods are going to die.”

“Mary,” Winifred ordered excitedly, “The potion, retrieve it, now!” The three witches were moving about excitedly as they brought the potion before me. 

The three witches were crowding me. I didn’t like this; I didn’t like how Winifred’s nails were digging into my cheeks, angling my head up. Attempting to get my mouth open was no small task, but it was easily done with a bit of persuasion—pain. 

The potion didn’t taste good, and I definitely didn’t want to know what was mixed in it, as I was forced to choke it down. 

“Now…” Winifred contemplated, “What was the next step?”

Reading from a sheet of crumpled paper, Sarah said, “Let… simmer for… 60… minutes!”

“Now, that doesn’t sound right, dear sister,” Mary lightly chastised her, pulling the paper from her hands. Though, Mary tilted her head at the words written on the page. “But it is… Winnie, are we going to have to wait an hour to taste her?”

Winifred snatched the paper out of their hands, hissing at the directions. “Indeed,” she uttered in distaste. “Tis because this little soul is a divine one. It will take time for the potion to extract the undamaged soul from her.” The explanation made sense; however, they disliked having to wait for something that was so tempting. “Regardless, we have to wait for the Dark gods to return and complete the ritual to summon his highness.”

The three sisters collectively sighed. “Alas.”

***

After a long hour of waiting, it seemed the return of the dark gods wasn’t growing any nearer, and there were a measly three hours before the sun would rise. Suffice to say, the witches were growing restless with my delicious soul teasing them, glimmering around my tired form.

“They wouldn’t notice…” Mary started carefully, “if we took… just a taste…?”

“Not a sniff,” Winifred shot a glare to her sister, “Not a taste, until they return.”

They sat tiredly like impatient children with a cookie in front of them. 

“Hey!” A shout came from further within the forest. “Hey! Catch that god!” 

Their heads snapped up as a small black cat bound up to them, skidding to a stop in the dirt as he ended up beside my tied feet. Ichthys’ eyes were wide as he looked between the three witches and me. “(Name)! I’m here to save you!” 

The witches were suddenly surrounding Ichthys as Winifred spoke down to him, “I think not. You may have escaped the wrath of those dark gods, but you won’t escape from us a second time! Take a look, your beloved little goddess has already succumbed to our potion! It’s only a matter of time now…” 

Ichthys’s tail swished behind him as he stood protectively between me and the witches. His head tilted as he shot back, “I would look… but I think it’s you who needs to turn and take a look behind you!” 

Turning, they were surprised to find Teorus and Dui still alive—and, not to mention, in very personalized robes that looked unironically similar to Sarah and Mary’s outfits. 

The sisters were clearly flustered over this, as Mary pointed out, “I thought they were supposed to be dead…” 

“I know!” Winifred huffed, clearly angry with how things were looking. But the gods were clearly at the disadvantage here. “We needn’t worry. We’ll handle them ourselves.”

“So, is that what you think?” Ichthys suddenly asked again, drawing the attention of the witches, who suddenly found themselves surrounded. Ichthys was no longer a cat, but, in fact, dressed in a very… ironically familiar robe. 

The little kerfuffle between gods and witches didn’t last nearly as long as the first time, and it only ended with the three gods standing proudly between me and the witches. The three gods stood close enough to spare their powers to undo the effects of that nasty potion, while still being in a good position to protect and defend you. 

With the effects of the potion wearing off, I gazed at the three gods in a daze, as if waking up from a dream. “Dui…?” My head lulled slightly as I lifted it to try and take in the situation. “Ichthys and Teo?” I blinked, swearing that I was still dreaming—and maybe had been this whole time. Only, if it were a dream, I was sure I wouldn’t be tied to a chair in the middle of a creepy forest. My eyebrows furrowed as I asked, “Why are you… the Sanderson Zodiacs?”

“Hah!” Teorus laughed. “I like that name. Yeah, let’s go with that.” 

My eyebrows furrowed as I failed to make sense of what was happening. “But… I thought your powers were drained because of me?”

“If you’re the one that was draining our powers, what do you think happened the minute they took you away from us?” Dui smartly asked, pausing to let me connect the dots. But they still had business to take care of. “Sit tight for us, (Name). We’re almost finished here.”

Their attention went back to the witches, and I watched in awe to see what my gods were planning on doing. With their powers recharged, this was bound to be an interesting show for me. 

“Do you want to know something cool about Teo?” Ichthys gestured to the blond god, pausing with a dark grin before he pointed out, ���He’s the god of time…” This time he paused to try and let the threat settle in.

“Oh!” I exclaimed excitedly, seeing what they were getting at. This was a perfect strategy; Teorus could make the sun rise early! Why hadn’t they thought of this before? “Of course…!”

“And now,” Teorus grinned, and I waited with bated breath for him to continue. “I’d like to introduce you to a little thing known as daylight savings time.” 

There was a quiet pause and Dui sighed loudly in disappointment. I turned my head away, muttering, “You just… couldn’t leave that line out of it…?” I groaned quietly; I thought he was going to say something scary, something that would dissuade them from returning again. What I hadn’t expected… was for him to mock a line from the movie… “Please… go back to being the scary and intimidating god of time.”

“And what are you going to do?” Winifred mockingly asked, “Give yourselves more time to save your little goddess?”

“We could do that,” Dui—or maybe this was Shadow Dui who came out—agreed. His tone was just as mocking, and his grin was just as unpleasant. “Or we can speed things up a little! I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if we turned the lights on!”

“Ah, Winnie,” Sarah called, “The sun! It’s rising!” 

“Curses!” Winifred screeched furiously. “Damn you, gods! We’ll be back! And when we do, your little reborn goddess will be ours!” 

Suddenly, my vision darkened as I felt Ichthys’ hands hover over my eyes. Softly, he whispered, “This… isn’t quite like the movie, so I’ll have to cover your eyes for this part.”

***

“Hm?” Krioff’s attention was stolen by a sudden glimmer outside the window, far in the distance, and his eyebrows furrowed as he found the sun rising. “That’s weird… Wasn’t the sun supposed to rise in an hour from now?”

“No worries,” Tauxolouve eased, smiling at the sight of the rising sun. “This is a sign that things went well, don’t you think?”

“I agree,” Huedhaut added, looking out of the window with a fond smile. “(Name)’s just fine in the hands of our three troublemakers.”

“Tch…” Scorpio scoffed off to the side. “Those brats are gonna get what’s comin’ to them when they get back to this mansion.”

Tauxolouve nodded his head as if content with the fact that the three gods were going to be punished very thoroughly by likely both ministers and vice ministers. “Yeah… This was a stressful Halloween.”

***

The grass was cold beneath me as I leaned back on my hands, sitting beside Teorus, Dui, and Ichthys. The only thing that warmed me up was the feeling of the sun that was rising just above the horizon. I pursed my lips, hesitant to break the peaceful silence, but finally, I had to speak, “You know… you guys are going to be in a lot of trouble when we go back.” I paused, adding, “Especially since you kept me out all night… Well, more-so for the dark gods and witches stuff… but, well, you know.”

There were solemn nods of agreement. “Yeah,” Dui verbally agreed with me, but he had something else on his mind. “Hey, (Name)... we still didn’t get to celebrate Halloween with you, though. Do you think we could hold off on going back just yet?”

Ichthys eagerly suggested, “Yeah! Can’t we go to your place for the day until Zyglavis and the others calm down?”

Teorus leaned toward me eagerly, “Please? I know we didn’t get to go trick-or-treating, but I really want to try some of that milk chocolate!” 

I sighed loudly, but I couldn’t deny my finely dressed Sanderson Zodiacs. I glanced over at them. “Are you three planning on staying in costume all day?” They glanced at each other before collectively nodding. “Fine,” I relented. “It’s November first, so the Halloween candy should be on sale today…” Glancing at their eager expressions, a huff of laughter left my lips. “Alright. Let’s stop at the store on our way to my place.”

They followed me like excited little Sanderson ducklings down the street. Teorus praised, “You’re so good to us, (Name), letting us stay at your place so we don’t get in trouble with Ziggy and Leo.” 

“And letting us celebrate Halloween with you a day late,” Dui added with his usually friendly smile.

Ichthys peered over my shoulder with an equally innocent smile. “You know how much we love you?”

I scoffed, angling my head up with a somewhat satisfied smirk. “Problem children… C’mon.”

[alpaca-clouds]

NaNoWriMo Day 8

Yay, managed to write four more chapters today - and finally got to the actual smut scene. 🙈 Which was rather fun to write. Funnily enough the first time I wrote a sex scene with a trans male character (who is not a shapechanger, that is). Due to writing a lot of smut for Striga/Morana in Castlevania, where I headcanon Striga as trans female, I wrote quite a bit with a trans female character in there. But never trans male. xD So, yeah. That was sure something.

The hard scene today was mostly the "escaping a sinking ship" scene. Because that was something I have not written before. Also might wanna note that I had a lot of fun today with Astarion being dramatic and everyone else going: "Dude, I get it, but this is literally the worst time for this."

Wordcount: 47 270 / 50 000 (+8894)

Chapters: 21/24

Favorite Bits:

Still, he focused on the lock, getting it open within a couple more seconds and swinging the brick door open like that. “Now please tell me they tied you up with rope?” “Them? Yes. They kinda took precautions with me,” Tav replied. He managed to get up to show the handcuffs that they had bound him with. The kind of things, that suppressed magic, Astarion assumed. But still, handcuffs usually posed little problem when it came to lockpicking them. As such it did not take him long, to open them as well. Tav smiled, massaging his wrists. “That’s better.” Then he turned to Astarion. “Thank you.” “Thank me, once we are out of here,” he muttered. “Can I kiss you?” There was a groan from the drow. “Could we please wait with all of that until we…”

The woman gave a sigh. “Don’t give an old woman a heartattack, coming in here with so many people in the middle of the night. I already thought the devil’s hordes were here to fetch me.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “But y’all look rather miserable. Do you youngsters want some hot cocoa?” Astarion could not help a chuckle. Youngster, ha. He was fairly certain he was older than this woman. “Who was that?” Karlach asked, once the woman left. “That is Marigot,” Alfira said. “My patron. She… Well, she owns the house. And since she is alone now, she allowed me to open my music school here.” “She is actually super sweet,” Tav said. “You should have told us she was here, Alfira,” Shadowheart added. “We would have tried to be quiet.”

“The thing is that… I am by now fairly certain I love you, my sweet, dumb bard. I actually do love you, can you imagine that?” Tav made a strange noise, but he smiled. “I can in fact imagine that,” he whispered. “And… And I do love you, too.” His thumbs were softly caressing Astarion’s skin. “And I kinda want to kiss you right now.” “You are an idiot,” Astarion whispered, instead just kissing him. He kissed him, and it just felt so incredibly good. More than that, it felt right. Something, though, Astarion had not quite noticed, was that they had an audience by now. “Wait, have you never said that before?” Karlach asked, leaning in the doorframe. “Of course they have not,” Shadowheart muttered. “They are both horrible idiots after all.” “You are just a bit mean,” Lakrissa muttered. “She likes being mean,” Wyll added.

[17020]

HI, I'M YN AND THIS IS MY FIRST DRINK . . .

aka the Bofurin boys (suo, tsubaki, umemiya, and sakura) taking care of you when you're drunk. based on things i have done/said when drunk, and my fugly ex having to panic while taking care of me. warnings for drinking, DRUNK YN, suggestive (tsubaki's), lots of pet names, parties yay, self indulgent. fem reader!

HAYATO SUO — THE EFFECTIVE BABYSITTER.

suo knew something was wrong the minute he left you alone at a house party to go say hi to his friends, finding you stumbling over your own feet trying to down a whole bottle of rum. the excuse? 'there were no clean cups, so i had to drink it from the source.'

he shook his head and sighed, walking towards you and carefully sliding his arm around your waist, suggesting you go and sit down somewhere as he went to go get some water from the kitchen.

much to his surprise, you were gone from where he left you, back at the bar and opening another bottle. suo pursed his lips as he got ahold of your hand and dragged you to a nearby chair.

"why don't you sit on my lap, princess? there's no room for us both in this chair" he smiled. his intention for you to stay still and sober up was subtle, and he almost let out a laugh when he heard your reply.

"why don't you sit on mine, hayato? unless you're scared."

he smiled as he made himself comfortable on your lap, thinking to himself that there was no way you would get more rum for the rest of the night. everything was calm, no stranger could ever bother you—

"yo dude, why're you sittin' on top of ya girl? isn't it supposed ta be the other way around?"

suo innocently smiled, opening his mouth in order to retaliate to the stranger. fortunately for him, though, you did it first.

"we're fucking the gender roles, asshole."

TASUKU TSUBAKINO — CAUGHT RED HANDED.

ah, the love corner.

no matter whose party it is, you and tsubaki often find yourselves in the love corner, the designated spot for couples to swallow each other whole. why wouldn't you? you're a couple, you're there, and in the words of your boyfriend…

"might as well join in on the fun, right baby?"

that was all you needed to hear as you entangled your fingers in your tsubaki's hair, his manicured hand placed on your nape as he brought you closer to him, lips slamming against yours in a heated kiss.

tsubaki's body was pressing yours against the wall while his hand was fiddling with the hem of your shirt, earning a gasp from you and allowing him to slip his tongue inside. much to his dislike, tsubaki pulled away not too long after finding that the burning taste of liquor still lingered on your lips. struggling to keep your balance, you desperately grabbed your boyfriend's arms, trying to keep yourself steady and leaning in towards his ear.

"i think the bathroom's free, if you wanna have a go at it" you teased.

your boyfriend chuckled in response, his hand cupping your cheek as he looked at you with adoration. "remember what happened last time, sweetie?"

"m'not that drunk, i won't grab it too hard this time."

tsubaki laughed as he shook his head, his hand getting ahold of yours to guide you towards the bar, asking for two cups of water. "things like that are better sober, sweetheart. i want you fully conscious."

you sighed in defeat as tsubaki handed you a cup filled with water, his eyes not leaving your figure until he was sure you had finished the whole cup.

"that's my girl."

HAJIME UMEMIYA — DO I KNOW YOU?

"hi handsome. what's a hot guy like you doing all alone in a place like this?"

classic.

it was the stunt you and umemiya always pulled whenever you attended a party. it was a pretty structured routine, even being planned days in advance. though you and your boyfriend arrived together at a party, you did not hesitate on separating once setting foot in the house and standing a few feet from one another to start some small talk.

"dunno. what's a pretty thing like you doing here?"

it was like a scene out of a corny romance movie: you batting your eyelashes and pulling down your shirt in an attempt to woo your (already wooed) boyfriend, him running his hand through his white hair as he complimented your looks and asked for a dance, and him looking at your dancing figure with the most lovesick puppy eyes.

"give me a kiss, baby."

you shook your head, "sorry, i don't kiss on the first date."

umemiya pouted as your lips curled into a smile. he frowned as his fingers intertwined themselves with yours, his thumb tracing incoherent patterns on the back of your hand.

"yn, i'm dying. pretty please?"

you pressed your index finger to your lips, seemingly deep in thought. then, you looked at him, a small smile on your face. "i don't think i can recall giving you my name, pretty boy."

your boyfriend groaned as he stressfully ran his other hand through his hair.

"babygirl, i don't wanna pretend anymore."

HARUKA SAKURA — THAT WAS NOT ORANGE JUICE.

sakura had never panicked this hard before in his life. the sight of you giggling so hard you almost fell to the floor from your lack of balance had him genuinely scared.

he knew this was your first night out in a while, but he had never thought it would get this bad.

having no experience with drinking, your boyfriend was confused as to what to actually do so you could sober up, as the last bit of water was already chugged down by you a few hours ago. turning to see a clean, completely untouched jar with some orange liquid inside, sakura did not think twice when serving a cup and handing it to you.

"here, have some orange juice."

you downed the glass with no problem, with your boyfriend handing you another one. sakura knew it was a matter of time before the alcohol wore off, and you would be back to your usual self, right?

so why had it been an hour, and you had gotten worse?

his jacket was draped over your shoulders as you sat on his lap, his arms snaked around your waist in order to keep you in one place. you were cuddled up against him, your ear pressed against his chest to hear his heartbeat. his phone buzzed. trying his best not to move, he retrieved his phone from his pocket to see who had texted, only to see it was kiryu, who sent a picture to a group chat.

it was a picture of you and him, right then and there.

KIRYU Look at those cute lovebirds! [1 attachment]

NIREI Sakura, what did Yn drink? She looks...

SUO Gone. She looks gone

SAKURA I gave her orange juice

SUO Oh dear! Those were actually screwdrivers. Nirei and I'll go fetch some water for her.

[schizopositivity]

i have occassional bouts of catatonia (akinetic and excited) and i've never really met anyone else with it. would you be interested in talking more about what's it's been like for you?

if not, then i hope you have a good day/night regardless. also i love your blog. it's comforting and informative ^_^

aw thank you! and yay i love hearing about people with lived experience of catatonia cause its so hard to find people talk about what it feels like so im happy to share!

so all but one of my catatonic experiences happened before i was diagnosed or medicated for schizophrenia, and was a teenager, and was living with my immigrant mom who has very little understanding of schizophrenia (besides her horrible father) so she legit didnt know what to do with me at these times. i dont blame her for not knowing but this is just a disclaimer as to why she handled certain things the way she did.

there were a few times (maybe around 10) where i was left alone, saw a bunch of hallucinations and then conciously "woke up" (usually i was hiding under a table) to my mom yelling at me to move. and then i was just stuck. i couldnt move at all even tho i wanted to and was told to. she was usually freaking out herself and super worried about me. she thought i was "faking it" and would demand that i stop. obviously this didnt help my situation at all, all i wanted was to move and show her i could atleast act okay, but i couldnt. i would usually black out what had led up to me hiding under the table so i couldnt even explain this if i wanted to. i dont really remember how all of these situations resolved, just that it was very stressful and i would try to move any lil muscle but couldnt. i dont really know what would help in these situations, just that she probably shouldve gotten me professional help.

another memorable moment of catatonia for me kinda is hard for me to personally destinguish from some sort of dissociation just because i was in and out of conciousness. but what i do remember was me being in the passengers seat while my mom was driving and kinda bashing around and yelling and feeling like i had no control over those actions. my mom, being scared that i would hurt myself or her, couldnt think of anything to help besides forcing sleeping pills down my throat, which eventually knocked me out. in that moment i think i shouldve been taken to a hospital.

the most recent time ive experienced catatonia is the one i remember most clearly because i was already diagnosed at the time and on antipsychotics. i wasnt home alone, but i was alone in the room i was in. i dont rememeber what led up to it but i had a panic attack that left me sitting strangley on the floor. from there my breathing suddenly slowed down and i couldnt move at all. i felt compeltely stuck no matter what i did. i wanted to move so badly, i wanted to yell to the other people in the house to help me, but i couldnt. i felt stiff and uncomfortable, and in the moment it felt like id be stuck like that forever. after some time that felt very long had passed, and i had attempted to move every muscle i had, i was able to bend my elbow. so i did that over and over to try to get someones attention but it didnt work. i probably looked so "out of it" like i had drool and snot hanging down and was bending my elbow and extending it nonstop but i was fully aware of what i was doing and how i looked, i just couldnt do anything about it. after more time had passed i started moving my fingers and toes and everything else came after that. idk what wouldve helped in this situation since it did pass eventually, maybe just someone there to be with me and tell me it was going to be okay.

im no expert on catatonia i just have my experiences. its generally said that you should make sure the persons airways are clear and that they are in a confortable position and not close to any dangerous objects. its also said that you should take the person to the hospital, and for me i dont think thats needed. id just like someone i trust to be there and tell me its okay, to time it to see if it lasts longer than an hour than i should go to a hospital, and maybe try to move my limbs around to see if that would help.

[inriospocket]

Yay welcome to the fandom. Rio deserve all the love so thank you for writing him. Since requests are open, please let us know what you’re willing to write & not. In the meantime, I’d like to please request something a lil angst & maybe fluffy? (Idc, whichever direction this leads you) Rio’s ex coming back in town & him running into her. There’s still unresolved feelings. Thank you!

Thank you for the warm welcome! ♥ I'm willing to write pretty much anything (including smut) within certain boundaries ofc but I may have to think about this longer and make a separate post. But here is your request, I hope you like it!

word count ♡ 1,040

summary ♡ Rio’s ex comes back into town & they run into each other although there are still some unresolved feelings.

situation ♡ angsty x fluffy

“Y/N?!” Marcus yelled in shock before charging towards you. You gasped as you felt his body almost push you over from the hug.

Rio became more alert when he realized Marcus was going towards someone rather than him during school pick-up but once he saw you, he had a mixture of feelings. Relief? Guilt? Hurt? Maybe even a bit of happiness?

“Marcus!” He called but he was too busy trying to crawl into your skin.

“Oh, you’ve gotten so big, papa. How are you?” You giggled, rubbing his back. “I’m good!” He smiled from ear to ear. You were going to say something until the sunlight was covered by a familiar shadow, one you left behind a year ago.

“Hey sweetheart...” Rio smirked. You looked up, your heart beating faster than you realized. “Hey.” You said, unsure if you should smile or not. You felt his dark eyes bore into yours and you were glad Marcus interrupted.

“What are you doing here anyway?” He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“I’m actually coming to pick up Maya. You remember Maya, right?” You smiled, watching your niece run up to you.

Marcus and Maya used to play together all the time when you and Rio were together. She waved towards Marcus.

“Come on, pup. Let’s get you home.” Rio took his hand. “Wait, can Maya come over and play, Dad?” He said with pleading eyes.

Rio mentally cursed himself for always giving into those eyes. “After homework and only if Maya’s parents are cool with it.” He said, you mentally screaming knowing you’d be looking after your niece for the day and how could you say no?

-

“Can we go nowwww?” Maya pulled on your arm as you were dreading to face your ex for the second time. “Alright, alright.” You said, putting your shoes back on lazily.

You spent so long trying to forget everything, including him. How could you stay away? Your whole family was here. And maybe, just maybe there was a small part of the both of you that wanted you to come back for each other. You quickly pushed the thought away, remembering how badly he hurt you.

Once you both got to Rio’s house, Marcus snatched Maya’s hand and dragged her to the playground in the backyard leaving you both alone.

The silence broke with Rio pouring himself a drink, raising the bottle to ask you if you wanted any. You shook your head, watching him twist the cap back on. It was the little things that made you miss him and hate him. He was just putting something away and it felt more to you than that.

Everything he did, so smooth, calm, collected. Everything and everyone had a place, a reason. You always compared his life to a game of chess. He was always moving the pieces and you spent your entire relationship trying to figure out how you fit on the board and why he was so attached to one of his pawns.

“Whatchu thinking about so hard?” He broke your train of thought.

“Doesn’t matter.” You lied, glancing out the window at the kids playing on the swings.

“Don’t.” He said, knowing you were lying. He probably knew you better than yourself so why try?

Might as well skip the small talk. “If it mattered, I wouldn’t be here as your guest.” You spoke.

He exhaled through his nose and pursed his lips, always a sign of frustration that you picked up on a long time ago. “You left me.” He said, casually sipping from his glass.

You shifted your gaze from the kids to him. “Did you leave me a choice?” You retorted.

He took his drink and came to sit across from you, the closeness making you slightly uncomfortable that you shifted in your seat. “Nah, you want to talk about this. Let’s talk.” He spoke. He relaxed his shoulders back and gave you that patronizing stare he gave everyone that you’ve always hated.

“Why wasn’t I enough for you?” You asked, looking down at your hands. He furrowed his eyebrows. “What?” He asked but, in some way, he knew.

Every argument and every fight, it always came down to one thing. Or should it be said, one person.

Beth.

You felt every feeling you tried to push to the side come back with a vengeance. “Why did you always choose her?”

Rio laughed defensively. “Y/N, come on.” He said.

“It didn’t matter if you came home to me every night, Christopher. You were still with her. And I,” You paused to keep the tears at bay.

“I spent every day wondering what I was doing wrong. What I could have done better. But I realized I just wasn’t her. I wasn’t who you really wanted. Right? And all this time, you think I’ve left? But I was here with you, Chris.” You couldn’t control the tears anymore.

“I was here with you, and you still left me.” You pressed your eyes closed.

Rio couldn’t deny it. Beth was an undeniable factor in his life. He wasn’t in love with her, but he soon realized he was in love with what she could do for him. It fueled his business, his ego, until it took away what mattered most.

He pulled your chair closer to him, so you’d be sitting between his legs. He cupped your cheeks and wiped your tears away with his thumbs.

“Look at me, mama.” He said, holding your hands now. You opened your tired eyes, looking at him. Was he finally getting it?

“I’m sorry.” He said and you remembered this familiar look in his eyes. It reminded you of what he was like before Beth came along. He still loved you.

He wasn’t one to formally apologize. He would just one day give you flowers or make you a cup of coffee but after all this time, he knew what you really needed.

You didn’t know why but those 2 words made you break down. A year of frustration, isolation, and everything in between. You just wanted him there for you.

He pulled you into his lap, wrapping his arms around you.

“I’m here, baby,” he said, kissing your head.

“I’m here.”

[sotangledupinit]

free fallin’

annnnd here’s my second fic for @cssns! it’s a rework of a fic i did for cs halloweek 2021 so i hope you like my changes and are ready for another multi-chapter fic! :D

---

SUMMARY: On a dark and stormy Halloween night 27 years ago, five people stepped onto an elevator. They never stepped off. Now 28, Emma Swan and her son Henry work together to discover what caused her parents and the other inhabitants to suddenly disappear. //rewrite of previous work, expanded to a multi-chapter.

RATING: T for teen, though there’s some graphic descriptions of horror elements in the first chapter.

WORD COUNT: 7084 words

TAGS: Tower of Terror AU, Captain Swan, CSSNS 22

AO3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: hi! some of this may seem familiar to you if you read my original story for CS Halloweek 2021, but i've changed some things, added stuff, and reworked it better to be a multi-chapter fic. so yay! based on the theme park attraction Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World as well as the 1997 film starring Kirsten Dunst of the same name (and inspired by the same attraction).

***

“Are you absolutely certain you’re okay with this?” David asks one more time. He stands besides Mary Margaret, each of them slowly shrugging their coats on as their eyes stare at their daughter as if memorizing her every feature.

“Yes, we can always bring Emma with us so you can enjoy the party too!” Mary Margaret agrees, hands reaching out towards her baby girl.

Granny Lucas shakes her head, adjusting the baby on her hip. A single woman since her early twenties, Granny’s exteriors are rough and stern. She’s had to put up with more malarky than is right but it molded her to be fierce and stand her ground. Once she glares in their direction, David and Mary Margaret know they’ve lost their fight. “Absolutely not,” she says. “When was the last time the two of you had a date night? Emma’s just turned one – you two need some time alone. As a couple.”

David sighs, buttoning up his coat. “I have my pager on me. Beep me and I’ll call right away.” He takes Mary Margaret’s red scarf from their coat rack and wraps it around his wife’s neck.

“And I’ll have my cell phone in my purse. I also left the numbers for the hotel and the party on the refrigerator.” She rushes over to Granny and presses a featherlight kiss to her daughter’s forehead, smiling softly. “I love you, Emma.”

She feels David approach behind her and he places one hand on her back and the other cradle’s Emma’s head. “We really don’t mind bringing –”

“Go.” Granny’s exasperation pours through her voice. Her feet bring her to the front door of the apartment the couple lives in. Opening it brings in the chilly October air that hung in the hallway of the building. “I have Emma handled. I did raise three children and a granddaughter all by myself. Emma’s a breeze.” The couple looks at each other, still hesitant as they stand in their threshold. “Regina’s going to be mad if you’re late to her party.”

They kiss their daughter goodbye once more, giving themselves the extra second to cherish the moment, and then thank Granny before leaving.

*

Regina sighs as she stands at the reception desk of the lobby. The man behind the counter – Liam, his nametag says – is on the phone with the hotel’s house band. The one she booked months in advance for the Halloween party didn’t find it worth their effort to show up. Taking a sip of her champagne, her red lipstick leaves a mark on her glass and she figures she can get a refill once she gets back upstairs, barring no further problems.

Full moons brought out the crazies, and, she surmised, bad luck.

A light drizzle painted the street just beyond the hotel’s front doors, lights from the Hollywood Hills in the distance looking brighter. 

When she became mayor of Storybrooke, it was a rundown ghost town just outside of Los Angeles. Half the shops on main street were closed down and the neighborhoods housed more foreclosures than people. She worked hard to make it the perfect picture of suburbia it is today, with a multitude of locally owned stores and restaurants, excellent schools, and safe, well-run neighborhoods.

Election year is next year and she’s already decided not to run. Nearly thirty years as mayor, yet nothing notable in her personal life.

Well, there always is Mary Margaret and her child. The thought makes her snort into her glass and she searches for a napkin to wipe her chin with. How sad is that thought?

Humidity warms the cool October night making the skin on her arms sticky. She pats at herself and waits for the phone call to end.

“Mayor Mills,” the accented man says. Liam’s dark curls are gelled to styled perfection and as cleanly done as his pressed uniform. She knows from her dealings with Brennan Jones – the years of board meetings and permit approvals and plans being run by her desk for the Hollywood Tower Hotel – that he’s grooming his eldest to take over. Brennan has never been the noblest man to sit with, always looking with one eye to seem sincere but glancing away with his other to check no one can see his crossed fingers behind his back. “The house band is already setting up in the Tip Top Club. If you have any other concerns, please let me know.”

He holds his hand out to shake but Regina turns away instead.

She leaves her empty glass at the counter and makes her way to the bathroom to freshen up. Hair tickles her cheeks and she can already tell the humidity is ruining her carefully crafted look. It’s going to be a dreadfully long night.

*

Liam waits until Mayor Mills exits the lobby before heading back to the staff lounge. He leaves the front desk in the trusted hands of his assistant manager Starkey and goes in search of peace and quiet for five minutes.

Things have been weird at the hotel since just before the party goers arrived. The storm outside is beginning to pick up and he groans as yet another hallway light flickers. The toilets in the upper floors began to flush by themselves and the card readers for the rooms on the front side of the building stopped working, all by six o’clock. Maintenance isn’t the issue, he reasons. He oversees the building’s maintenance and does what he can with what little leash his father gives him. Where all the issues came from is a mystery to him.

Something isn’t right, something… not natural.

His hand grips the knob of the staff lounge only to find it locked. Groaning, he knocks heavily on the door. “Killian!” he practically hollers. “I need you to open up!”

The dark wood door swings open and Killian stands in its threshold, shirt unbuttoned and tie hanging loose around his neck. It’s unfair that his little brother is a hair taller than him. He recalls when Killian used to ask him to reach up for something on the top shelf or looked to him for protection. For their father being around nearly their entire lives, his presence was consistently absent.

“The door wasn’t locked, brother,” Killian says. Liam ignores the lie on his brother’s lips as the younger Jones steps back to allow him in.

“There’s an issue with the band Mayor Mills hired. The house band is filling in but…”

Killian sighs as he realizes where Liam’s train of thought is going. “But Whale is nowhere to be seen and you need me to fill in?”

“You’re wonderful, little brother. Brilliant, truly.”

“Bloody hell, Liam. I’m 30 and I’m taller than you. I’m younger, but most definitely not little.”

“Now, now. Let’s not turn this into a measuring contest,” Liam chastises, though his amusement cracks his stern exterior. “I do appreciate you giving up your night off.”

“Well,” Killian says with a sigh, rebuttoning his shirt, fixing his tie, and heaving up his guitar case from the corner of the room. “Enjoy this while you can because soon I’ll be on the ocean where you can’t pester me to fill in. By the way, I expect overtime for tonight.”

*

“Regina!” Mary Margaret calls out. They’ve dropped their scarves and coats at the desk, David’s black suit looking straight out of a catalog and perfect for his Bruce Wayne outfit, her dark blue gown swirling around her ankles creating an elegant Snow White look. She prances over to her stepmother like a fairytale princess in the Disney cartoons and Regina only barely manages to hold in her disgust at the display.

“Well it’s about time you showed up,” she says to the couple. Her eyes dart to David and she teases, “Even your brother arrived on time. Clearly he’s the better twin.”

“You invited my brother?” David groans as they walk together to the elevator.

“You can thank your lovely wife,” Regina says. She rolls her eyes when she sees Liam and another hotel worker waiting at the elevators too.

Mary Margaret fidgets next to her husband, apologetic. Ask forgiveness instead of permission. Regina can’t say she disagrees with that line of thinking. “No one should be alone on a holiday. Especially family.”

“It’s Halloween,” Regina deadpans. The ding of the arriving elevator sounds, putting a stop to the conversation. Liam holds his employee back and lets them board first. The employee holds a large guitar case and, glancing at the eyeliner rimming his eyes and the rings on his fingers, she groans. He better not be part of the band.

“Really,” David whispers to his wife as he enters after Regina and Mary Margaret. “You invited James?!”

“He’s your family,” she hisses back, pasting a pleasant smile on her face as a way of greeting the employees. Moments before the elevator doors close, she spots James coming from the back of the lobby and heading towards the stairs, waving in his direction while David grunts. His brother merely smirks and raises his glass, the metal doors starting to slide close. It’s the most perfect look for anyone dressed as Two-Face.

It really is a toss-up, which brother grates on Regina’s nerves more. Only slightly less holier-than-thou than her stepdaughter, David has the whole shtick down. Animal rescue, helps old ladies cross the street, probably picks up garbage from the gutter.

Ugh, he’s so good it makes her sick.

His twin, on the other hand, couldn’t be more opposite. Poor Ruth Nolan would probably be run into an early grave if she was only raising James. The man is a hellion, is known for collecting paramours, and has an angry streak to make anyone flinch.

Despite her earlier jest, she’d prefer to deal with David any day of the week over his brother. James can take his smirk and glass of liquor and go to hell.

Regina only just barely held back a snarl, making sure it’s the last thing James sees before the doors finally slide shut.

“Mayor Mills,” Liam nods, pressing the button for the Tip Top Club. The elevator begins its ascent with a light jerk. He gives her a nervous glance she pointedly ignores. Clearly Brennan Jones put no investment into his hotel’s transportation if the elevators were still as slow and jerky as when the building originally opened, nearly 90 years before his purchase. “This is my younger brother, Killian. He’s incredibly talented and he’ll be the guitarist of our house band tonight.”

Lovely.

Soft sounds of the music playing from a boombox at the party waft through the elevator shaft as their car quickly approaches its final stop. It's some pop hit that she finds more horrible than Mary Margaret’s hope speeches before election night. Nothing like what her father played growing up in Puerto Rico before moving to Storybrooke.

She opens her mouth to question his decision in bringing aboard his brother, a downright unkempt scoundrel by the looks of it and in no form for the classy Halloween party she’s hosting, but right as the elevator is about to reach the Tip Top Club, their car jerks to a stop.

“What’s happening?” Mary Margaret asks. David rests a comforting hand on her back and Liam looks to his brother before turning to face the elevator panel next to the door.

Finger just inches away, a purple electric shock shoots out of the panel and gets Liam. Killian is quick to jerk him back and the second he does, the lights go out.

Darkness envelops them, their breaths caught in their throat as no one says a word. The emergency lights lining the ceiling are useless as they refuse to turn on. It’s only when there’s a flicker, just the smallest bit with a tint of purple to its glow, that the elevator lurches then drops into a free fall.

Screams erupt in the elevator car. Regina sees the couple next to her in each other’s arms and the brothers on the other side clinging to the rails of the car. Her stomach is in her throat and her hair rises as her body falls. The last thing she sees before their elevator crashes is a flash of purple light.

*

27 years later…

Emma stares at her son, her eyebrow raised and lips pressed into a thin line, waiting for his answer.

Henry only grins back at her, a small gap between his front teeth.

“Your teacher… who I grew up with… assigned you to write a story about the Hollywood Tower Hotel?”

He fidgets in his seat and her eyes narrow. In turn, he becomes stock still with his gaze wide-eyed. He even refuses to breathe. Got him.

“Okay, so Miss French didn’t actually assign me the Hollywood Tower Hotel. I chose it.”

Emma stares at him in disbelief. “…Why?”

Their history with the infamous hotel is well known around the Los Angeles area but most especially in Storybrooke, where nearly all of its inhabitants knew her parents. It’s part of why she ran away from her Uncle James when she was sixteen. And part of why she hesitated greatly when contemplating moving back almost a year ago.

Grandma Ruth had been too distraught by losing her son that she wasn’t fit to take in Emma when she was a baby. Despite Granny’s attempts to take care of her, she wasn’t blood so Uncle James took her in. Though, he was far from a parent. No rules, little guidance, and an absence of fatherly love meant Emma became self-sufficient before she was ten. It hurts now, to look at her son at the same age and know that she was practically living on her own. Uncle James was more a body that took up space in the living room and who signed school papers until she was able to forge his signature convincingly.

School was another thing entirely.

If there is one thing to be guaranteed, it was that when kids saw an easy target, they pounced, eliciting a thrill from goading their full childhoods and families over her head. She’d been called a freak and a loser but the taunts that hurt the most were the ones calling her unlovable and an orphan.

Those ones were true.

At first she tried to combat the bullies by telling her teachers. That gave the incidents more fanfare and opened her up to even more bullying outside school grounds. So in fourth grade, she taught herself how to throw a punch.

The only bullies who bothered her after that were the ones brave enough to say something to her face. Somehow, the whispers that started up behind her back afterwards hurt more.

“We had to pick a moment in history and create a story from it so why not one about our family?” He shrugs his shoulders, leaving Emma dumbfounded. She forgets her son hasn’t been affected the same way she has, that the fated night doesn’t haunt his every quiet moment like it does hers.

The happenings at the Hollywood Tower Hotel on Halloween night 27 years ago have become the stuff of legends. More than one amateur sleuth has traveled far to see the hotel up close and solve the mystery of how the two elevator shafts protruding from the front of the building suddenly disappeared that night, taking five people along with them. 

Ghosts, curses, aliens – you name it, every few months someone shows up claiming to know the truth of what happened but none have been proven real. Moving out of Storybrooke didn’t allow her an escape from the shadow that encased her life. She’s been dodging requests from reporters to talk about the event for her entire life. They hunted her down in Storybrooke before she left, when she was still just a kid, and then followed her to Tallehasse and Phoenix and Boston and everywhere in between. Every once and a while, a brother of one of the occupants will pop up and ask for anyone who knows the truth to come forward with information, but it all leads to dead ends. 

Honestly, the whole thing feels like an episode straight out of the Twilight Zone.

“Henry,” she begins, mind searching for the right words to say. “I don’t know if this is a good idea…”

Her son gets up from his chair and comes to stand beside hers, face set in determination. “Maybe we can solve this mystery together.”

*

Let it be known that Emma will do anything for her kid. Even if it means standing outside of the hotel her parents disappeared from so Henry can get a vibe of the place for his writing assignment.

“I know you and Grace have snuck out of her house and come here before,” she says as she leans against the cement fencing that lines the property. A wide wrought iron gate sits at the entrance, kept closed with a rusted chain and lock. The plants around the property are overgrown and she sees weeds popping out from cracks in the cement. She thinks the original owner died some years ago but can’t be certain. If it’s not news about her parents, she looks the other way.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he evades. Standing on the tips of his toes, he tries to see beyond a particularly wild bush at the edge of the driveway just beyond the gate. His brow furrows when he doesn’t find what he expects.

A breeze blows through the trees and down the driveway, leaving Emma with a chill. Her son seems unaffected and a part of her wonders if it’s her mind getting to her.

People who have snuck onto the property or inspected it to solve the mystery swear the hotel is haunted. They share stories of unexplainable events taking place on the deserted property and supernatural occurrences, both of which make Emma snort. Things like ghosts and magic and vampires – ugh, that theory in particular, one where the inhabitants of the elevator became vampires and turned the hotel into their private bat cave, grinds her gears – are not real.

“Do you have everything you need?” she asks, shifting from foot to foot, eyes refusing to look at the hotel any longer.

Henry bites his lip as he looks up at her. “Can you tell me again what happened that night?”

She sighs. It’s not a story she likes repeating, especially since most of it is secondhand information. “Mayor Mills was throwing a Halloween Ball in the Tip Top Club. My parents, Mayor Mills, and two other people boarded an elevator to go to the club. There was a storm, the entire city lost electricity, and when the lights came back on a minute later, the elevator shafts disappeared, leaving no trace of anyone who was inside.”

“You know,” a young voice says behind her. She turns quickly, surprised to see a guy, not much older than 18, behind her with keys in his hands. He has sharp blue eyes and his brown hair is parted down the middle, the ends brushing his ears. A thin frame, his Hollywood Tower Hotel blazer hangs large on him. He gives her a nervous smile, “A lot of people claimed my papa cut corners getting the hotel fixed, that things weren’t working correctly and there were wiring issues. Which, I guess could be true, but that doesn’t explain the elevators disappearing and no debris.”

“You’re the owner’s son,” Emma guesses. She crosses her arms, eyeing him warily.

“I am.” He directs his attention to Henry who is watching the man in awe. “See the scorch marks on the outside of the building there?” His finger points to the front façade, burn marks in two identical vertical lines permanently staining the building. “That’s the only evidence left of that night.”

“Wow,” Henry says. Running back to the gate, his face pushes between the spaces and he fixes his gaze on the marks.

Emma eyes the newcomer, stepping into his eyeline so he can’t see her son. “Unless you’ve got an issue with us standing on the street, we’re good here. I don’t need you to put ideas in my kid’s head.”

The young man looks confused, mouth opening and closing as he tries to figure out what to say. “But you – you emailed me?”

Shaking her head, she immediately responds, “No I didn’t.”

Henry jumps away from the gate with a grin. He stands beside Emma and looks up at the man. “That’s because I did! Liam Jones, right? This is my mom. She’s Emma Nolan.”

Liam nods, his cheeks red, and says, “I actually go by LJ, not Liam.” Emma raises her eyebrow at this. He gestures to the building and shrugs, sighing, “I was born about seven years after that night, named after one of my brothers who disappeared then. But it’s weird, right? I kind of felt like my papa was trying to replace him with me.”

She swallows, nodding her head. “I’m sorry.”

LJ waves off her apologies and approaches the gate, flicking through the keys. “So you wanted a tour?”

“Yes!”

“No!”

Emma and Henry turn to face each other. She glares as much as she can at her son but he has his eyes wide, his hands clasped together, and – crap – he just stuck out the bottom lip.

The chains rattle as LJ removes them from the gate, Henry hot on his heels with every move.

“So you still own the hotel?” he asks him, pointing at the embroidered jacket he wears.

LJ nods. Creaking from lack of use, the gates open to the winding drive up the hill to the front doors of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Sunlight beams through the breaks in the overgrowth and for a moment, Emma understands all the hype about the place in its heyday. There’s a peace that settles over her shoulders, like she’s in a long-lost private garden, and she takes a deep breath in.

Reality crashes down as LJ starts talking again, leading Henry up the drive with Emma following behind.

“Papa closed it for the investigation to see what happened to my brothers. It took years. Police investigated him and the property for faulty construction issues. Some people thought he demolished the two elevator shafts in order to expand, but there was no debris so that was ruled out. He was so broken up by everything – the disappearance, the investigation – that he vowed the hotel should not be opened again until the mystery of what happened that night is solved or my brothers are found.”

Emma trips on one particular crack in the driveway and the gravel breaks under her foot. “How can you afford to pay taxes and… maintenance?” A quick look around makes her wonder if any maintenance has actually been done, but the front of the hotel appears before her eyes and she gasps softly.

It’s one thing to see the glitz and the glam of a luxury hotel in photos but it’s another to see it in real life. A covered walkway with arches leads up to the front doors, mosaic tile covering the floors of the outside. The chairs on the patio on either side of the doors offer an unobstructed view of the Hollywood Hills with the Hollywood sign looking picturesque. She bets the backside of the hotel offers remarkable views of the Santa Monica Bay.

“Papa made a trust to pay for the upkeep. Plus I’m in school for mechanics and learning some building maintenance as I study. Things are a little dusty, but the lights still work. I can give you a tour,” LJ offers and Emma shakes her head.

“Oh no,” she starts. Her hands go out to grasp Henry by the shoulders before he can move inside and she shakes her head. “We are going to stay right out here.”

Henry eyes her suspiciously. “Why can’t we go in? Are you scared of ghosts?”

Emma represses the shudder that goes through her body at glancing up and seeing the empty lobby in front of her. The thought of being in the same place as her parents last were before they disappeared leaves an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

“I’m not scared,” she says to Henry. “Let’s just walk around the outside, okay? I bet there’s spiders in there.” She only feels a little bit bad when Henry shakes his whole body and sticks by her side, but sometimes she has to do what’s needed.

LJ leads them around the hotel, pointing out little details in the railings or on the tiles. She tunes most of it out, knowing her son is sucking it all up like the curious sponge he is. Instead, her breath is taken by the view of the water from the back porch, drawing her from the group.

The water glistens, far enough away that she can’t hear the waves but the sight still leaves her stunned.

“Awesome, isn’t it?” LJ says with a grin a few moments later. She nods, stepping closer to the railing and lets the sight roll over her shoulders in calming waves. What it must have been like, to be a guest here when everything was grand and to have this room from the hotel room. Incredible. 

When she turns around though, LJ is just a few feet behind her but Henry is nowhere to be found.

“Henry?” she calls out. LJ follows suit, both of them looking for her son but he doesn’t appear at her voice. Her heart starts pounding and she wonders if the same thing that caused her parents to disappear so long ago just did the same to her son.

Curtains billowing in the wind catch her eye and Emma frantically makes her way over. The door to the hotel is slightly ajar, the cool breeze sweeping off the porch and into the back seating area leading to a number of hallways. She cautiously steps through, looking behind her to check with LJ, before fully entering.

Dust and cobwebs cover the furniture. Books are strewn on coffee tables, bags and suitcases are still piled on the luggage carts, and flowers long dead remain in the vases. “I thought you did routine maintenance?” she questions with a raised eyebrow, unamused.

LJ’s bashful look is accompanied by a scratch at his jawline. “It’s more wiring and keeping up with the electrical and pipes than cleaning…”

She hums, rolling her eyes and continues calling her son’s name. The front lobby is in much of the same state as the back and she looks for indents in the dust or a sign that something’s been moved. A glass on the reception desk glints from the sunlight beaming through the tall windows above the front doors and she can still make out the dark red lipstick staining the rim.

Glancing behind the check-in desk proves to be a waste with still no sign of Henry and her heart rate ticks up again. A chill is settling in her bones the longer she’s in the lobby and she studiously avoids the elevator shafts in the middle of the floor.

“Mom?” Henry calls out, voice scared and wobbly.

“Henry?!” Emma replies, pushing herself away from the counter and rushing around the corner. She hears music, like a boombox playing in another room, but when she runs through the tall white doors in the hall, she enters an empty ballroom and sees no boombox, no radio, not even a band. She calls her son’s name again but hears no response.

She feels the sensation of a breath along the back of her neck before she hears the voice in her ear.

“Welcome to the Hollywood Tower Hotel,” a deep voice says from behind her. Emma jumps in sudden fright and lets out a quick scream before her fight instincts kick in. In an instant, she reaches for one of the centerpieces on a nearby table, a heavy glass vase filled with flowers that have been long dead. She readies her arm as she turns around but there’s no one behind her when she looks. No door is swinging and no footsteps echo in the space.

The tension that coiled in her back keeps her body rimrod straight and straining. She eyes the empty ballroom and struggles to keep the quick succession of her breaths quiet. Though she desperately wants to call for her son, she worries any sudden noise could send danger in his direction. A chill runs down her arms to her fingertips and she tightens her grip on the vase.

A table cloth just a few paces over flutters in an imaginary wind and Emma feels the presence first. Pivoting, she immediately spots a handsome man standing in the middle of the ballroom, dressed in an impeccable bellhop’s uniform, the deep red complimenting his light skin and dark hair. He smirks at her, not afraid to show his enjoyment in the cat and mouse game he’s started, and he stands up straighter, arms behind his back.

She swallows hard at the image, a far cry from what the man – one of the Jones’ – looked like in photographs, vase still held high, as unease settles in her stomach. A wicked glint enters the man’s eye right as she opens her mouth to question him, but his words bet her to it.

“Checking in?” he asks, the devil on his lips and staining his words, smirk widening as he pulls a butcher’s knife dripping with blood from behind his back. 

Holding back a scream, Emma tosses the vase with all her might.

Only for it to land right at his feet.

He clicks his tongue, chastising. “That hurts, love.”

The man, sin draped in red, starts a slow approach towards her and she immediately puts a table between them. Demands for Henry’s whereabouts rest on the tip of her tongue and she steels herself to face the man down when she hears her name echo from the hallway. The man’s brow furrows as his attention is momentarily taken by Henry’s yell and she uses it to her advantage.

With all her might, she pushes the table forward and straight towards the man. She doesn’t wait to see the impact, instead immediately turning on her heel and rushing out the white doors, leaving a cacophony of crashes in her wake.

Emma runs through the hallways, yelling out Henry’s name in quick intervals, her voice frantic and on the verge of becoming hoarse. He calls back to her, more frightened than she’s ever heard before, and she nearly barrels through the wall as she rushes into the kitchen.

“Henry!” she cries in relief, rushing over to hug him and falling to her knees in the process. He stands still in shock as she wraps her arms around him. Relief floods her system and she kisses his cheeks, murmuring how she’s happy she’s found him but that they have to leave. Except he doesn’t move. “Henry?” She pulls away from her embrace and examines his face, pale and sweaty. His breathing is as quick as hers and his eyes seem fixed on a point beyond her shoulder. 

Standing up straight and turning to face whatever has her son in a trace, Emma immediately knows why.

Sunshine filters through two windows on the far wall of the kitchen as if putting a spotlight on the long stainless steel rolling table in the middle of the room. A lone figure lays on it, white sheet covering their body with one arm hanging loose. An uneaten apple rests precariously in the figure’s hand, blood dripping from the fruit onto the figure’s fingertips and down to a growing puddle on the floor.

“Let’s get out of here, kid.” Despite speaking in a whisper, it’s as if her words shatter the delicate calm over the room for not a moment passes before the figure sits up straight without effort. Emma and Henry scream in terror, jumping back but unable to tear their eyes from the sight before them despite her efforts to push her kid behind her.

Emma knows that figure.

Dressed in a dark gown with a matching black corset situated on top, the tall collar of the dress nearly reaches the figure’s ears. The vibrant red lipstick, their trademark, makes this figure – this Evil Queen – unmistakeable.

She’s studied the photos of the disappeared enough to recognize Regina Mills when she sees her, be it through photographs or in this… projection of sorts. The last photo of the former mayor of Storybrooke had been by Sydney Glass for the newspaper and it was taken right here, in the kitchens of the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

Emma knows the photo well. It was a posed shot, the mayor’s perfectly poised persona coming through in every shot as if being photographed by Vogue instead of the Storybrooke Mirror. The kitchen photo was of Regina leaning over an apple bite, a sampling on a fork hovering in the air on its way to her mouth. The piece in the newspaper was supposed to be about how Regina made her own desserts for the charity Halloween ball, her famous apple pie chief among them. The perfect kind of writeup for someone preparing to run again.

This Regina feels like a completely different person from the one she imagined through the photos. This one has a wicked grin and a narrowed gaze, portraying the perfect villain for a storybook tale.

Her voice runs like a smooth velvet down their spines as she inquires, “Won’t you stay for a bite?”

The wicked grin transforms into a sickly-sweet smile on her lips and Regina lifts her arm, long fingernails painted a shiny black adorning her blood-stained fingers and brings the dripping apple to her lips. She tilts her head at Emma and Henry who stare at her in shock and takes a large chunk out of it. In an instant, both Regina and the apple sizzle.

The apple rots before their eyes, turning as black as Regina’s nails, melting into her hand and sliding in large wet chucks to the floor. The former mayor is next, her skin drooping, cheek growing flaccid until it drops as low as her chin before falling to the metal table, revealing muscle and bone in its wake. Those too begin to droop and melt like the apple had, the sizzling noise growing louder as more of Regina disappears into a puddle.

Her smile, the sickly-sweet one that turns Emma’s stomach, remains on the mayor’s face despite their screams of terror and despite her body literally melting away before her.

Emma and Henry don’t stay long enough to watch the puddle that was Regina drip to the floor.

Her son’s tiny hand clasped in her own, Emma leads the two of them back to the lobby and the only exit she knows. Their lungs burn with fright and fatigue. They only come to a stop once they reach the lobby, their pants filling the silence as they take in the scene before them.

Leaning as far back in his chair as possible is LJ. Absolute terror colors his features and he shakes his head frantically as a womanly figure dances under an isolated cloud in what looks to be acid rain. The water’s green glow shines through the lobby and when she spins, a few raindrops leave her circle and land on the armrest of LJ’s chair, hissing as it burns through to the ground. He pulls his legs up to his chest to make himself as small as possible.

A second figure approaches LJ, a tall gentleman in a tailored suit and perfectly styled blonde hair. His attention is fixated on LJ and when he reaches a hand towards his own head, Emma turns Henry’s shoulders and presses his face against her stomach in anticipation of what’s to come. She’s glad she followed her gut as the moment Henry’s vision is no longer of the scene in front of her, the gentleman pulls his head from his shoulders dropping his hand to his side as the head in its grip continues talking some nonsense about enjoying their stay.

Emma merely gasps out a shuddered breath, feeling like she barely has any air in her lungs left so she can scream.

Oh no, she thinks, that’s my parents.

“A tad dramatic, isn’t it?” an accented voice drawls behind her. She cautiously turns her head in its direction as she holds Henry tighter in her arms. The man from the ballroom stands by the check-in desk looking bored and not as devious as he’d been a few minutes ago. “I prefer the subtle scare,” he continues, lifting his bloodied knife from beneath the desk. Her eyes widen as her breathing staggers again.

Even if she didn’t study their photos so much growing up, she’d know from the captivating blue eyes that this was LJ’s brother. Killian Jones. 

There’s been plenty of information about most of the people in the elevator that night. Regina had been mayor for as long as anyone could remember, her parents were staples in the community for their jobs and their volunteer work, and Liam Jones was the eldest of Brennan Jones’ two sons, poised to take over the hotel once their father retired. He’d met with vendors and local residents to ensure smooth relationships, and he captained the many events the hotel entered. His younger brother Killian was a mystery though.

She had nothing to go off of when it came to him, making him the most terrifying of everything she’s seen tonight.

Liam Jones walks out from one of the employee back rooms decked out in his fully Hollywood Tower Hotel uniform and shakes his head at Killian. “Be honest with the lass, little brother. You’re just mad those two have finally upstaged you.”

The elder of the two plucks the knife from Killian’s lax grip and holds it up for inspection. Emma feels the moment Liam’s eyes peer at her just over the bloodied metal.

He points the knife at her. “This yours?”

Emma doesn’t know if he’s asking after the ownership of the knife or its blood but she’s had enough. Adrenaline is leaving her body at a fast pace and she will not allow her son to be trapped inside this god forsaken place.

It’s been years since she’s picked up Henry in her arms but she does so in an instant with a strength she didn’t know she possessed. His body is wrecked with tremors and he clutches tighty to her shirt, his legs wrapping around her waist without hesitation as he buries his face into her neck. She cradles him to her chest as she rushes back out to the patio, around the hotel, and to the driveway, only glancing back at LJ once to see him scrambling from his seat and rushing after them.

*

The Hollywood Tower Hotel glooms over them from the sidewalk like a proud enemy declaring victory. It makes her sick.

“What the hell was that?!” Emma yells the moment she regains enough breath to do so. Her side is in stitches and her fingers shake uncontrollably. She can’t help but bend at her waist as she takes in her son. Tears have stopped rolling down Henry’s cheeks, the drying tracks the only sign of his fear, and he stares up at the hotel in deep thought.

He’s going to need so much therapy after this.

“How could you let him go in there?!” she continues, glaring at LJ. He leans back against the cement fencing, sweaty and pale with wide eyes.

“I-I didn’t know it was haunted!”

“It’s your hotel! You do the maintenance!”

“Yeah, I can do it all from the outside!” LJ shrieks. “I’ve never been brave enough to go in before!”

The admittance sits on her chest like a heavy weight. All three of them entered the situation in the dark, no knowledge of what to expect. If Emma knew what horrors laid on the other side of the gate, she would have hauled Henry back to his room immediately.

For the rumors and paranormal investigators that followed her for her entire life, she guesses they weren’t wrong.

So maybe the Hollywood Tower Hotel is haunted. And not by any regular ghosts but by her parents and the others in the elevator.

“We have to go back in and help them!”

She looks away from LJ to stare at her son incredulously. “What are you talking about?!”

Henry seems to be taking things in stride as he presses his face through the gate again, eyes fixated on the hotel. “We have to help the ghosts.”

“I think they’re beyond wanting help, kid,” Emma says. She straightens up slowly and with a wince, the pull in her side from carrying Henry down the hilly drive becoming more prominent. “They literally just scared us out of the building. Or tried to kill us, take your pick.”

A frustrated sigh leaves his lips and Emma already feels her resolve waning. Ghosts are not real. This is not real. None of this can be happening. It all sounded so crazy. 

She closes her eyes and pinches her arm long and hard, hoping that when she opens her eyes, she’ll wake in her bed. When she opens her eyes, she’s agitated to see herself still outside the hotel.

“Come on, you heard all the stories about Grandma and Grandpa!” Henry explains. “They wouldn’t act like that! Maybe something bad is keeping them there and they’re trying to stop anyone else from being stuck.”

LJ is still as white as, well, a ghost. He eyes the two of them wearily and shakes his head. “Be my guest,” he says, tossing his arm towards the hotel, “but I am not going back in there.”

“Henry,” Emma starts gently. “We don’t know them. Maybe they were like that and played cruel jokes on people when they were alive.” His lip wobbles at her words and she does her best to steel herself. She doesn’t think she can face her parents again either, not if they’re bitter ghosts who live to frighten the daylights out of anyone they see. “They scared us. I don’t want to help them.”

Henry shakes his head, turning away from Emma to gaze up at the building through the fencing. “Maybe they’re just scared too.”

[badassbuchanan]

Secrets and Spies

Request: Could you write something where the reader and bucky have been seeing eachother for a while but no one from the team knows. But they know something is different with bucky so they follow him one night to the readers place and kinda catch them in the act? I don't know if that makes sense

Warnings: smut; shower sex, loud sex, unprotected sex, swearing and some really bad writing skills on my part!

a/n: my first request, yay! I hope it came out okay! it’s different to the writings i’ve done before - I hope it makes sense

also I'm sorry if you didn't want this to be smutty but my thirsty ass brain took the ‘catch them in the act’ part a little too literally. I'm just a whore for bucky let’s face it. 

“You coming to the game with us next week, Buck?” The blonde haired Captain asked his childhood friend as he stood with him and Sam in the kitchen.

“Hm?” The long haired winter soldier looked up from his phone which had previously captured all of his attention.

“The baseball game,” Sam frowned at Bucky suspiciously, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the kitchen worktop. “The one we talked about last week.”

“Oh,” Bucky raised his eyebrows and nodded, lifting his metal hand to scratch the back of his head. “Uh yeah,” he looked back down at his phone which was now buzzing in his hand. “Um, I’ll be there.”

As soon as the words left his mouth Bucky was out the door, lifting his phone to his ear as he softly answered “hello.”

Sam and Steve turned to look at each other with a puzzled look on their faces.

“You know he’s been acting weird right? Even for him.” Sam raised his eyebrows at Steve who rolled his eyes softly, leaning his hands on the counter.

“He’s probably just stressed or something.” Steve dismissed Bucky’s recent behaviour, but even he’d noticed how distant and odd his oldest friend had been acting.

“Steve, I know you always want to see the best in him.” Sam’s voice dropped an octave in seriousness, mirroring Steve’s stance from across the kitchen bench. “But don’t forget what he’s capable of.”

“No, that wasn’t him. That was Hydra.” Steve defended Bucky, hitting his palm against the worktop before lifting it to rub his jaw anxiously. Sam’s words were making him worry.

“Okay, so what if Hydra, starts controlling his mind again?” Sam spoke softly, understanding what the weight of his words were doing to Steve. “Regardless, that doesn’t excuse his sneaking around, all the secret conversations, the frequent disappearing, or the fact that he is constantly distracted.”

“Oh, so it’s not just me who thinks Mr.Bionic is acting like more of a weirdo than usual?” Tony waltzed into the room, removing his sunglasses as he did so.

Steve shot Tony a warning glance but nodded his head anyway. Bucky had been acting strange for a while, it started off with small things, but now he was hardly ever around. And when he was, his mind was distant. Everything Sam said was true and Steve could only ignore it for so long.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y informed me he’s arranged to meet someone tonight.” Tony added, shoving a handful of almonds in his mouth as he did so. “You might wanna keep a close eye on him.” He more instructed than suggested, shrugging his shoulders before leaving the room to answer his ringing phone.

Steve loved Bucky. He believed in Bucky. But he couldn’t deny the small amount of constant doubt that lived in his mind. What if Hydra was still dormant in Bucky’s brain, controlling him with such a subtlety that no one would notice?

Steve let out a sigh, running his hand through his pushed back blonde hair. He was torn between trusting his childhood friend and doing his job as an Avenger to protect the world from potential threats. “Just let me talk to him.”

Sam nodded understandingly as the kettle clicked, signalling the water was done boiling just as he turned his back to grab a mug from the cupboard.

—Bucky’s POV —

“The baseball game,” Sam frowned at Bucky suspiciously, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the kitchen worktop. “The one we talked about last week.”

“Oh,” Bucky raised his eyebrows and nodded, lifting his metal hand to scratch the back of his head. “Uh yeah,” he looked back down at his phone which was now buzzing in his hand, Y/N’s unsaved number flashing on the screen. “Um, I’ll be there.”

As soon as the words left his mouth Bucky was out the door, lifting his phone to his ear as he softly answered “hello.”

“Hey mister,” The sweet voice cooed through the phone, a bashful smile appearing on Bucky’s face as he leaned against the wall. “You coming over soon? My housemate’s gone out for the night.”

“Yeah, just finished working out with the guys. I’ll have a shower and then make my way to you.” Bucky fiddled with the drawstring of his grey track pants absentmindedly as he spoke.

“Or you could have a shower here,” Y/N spoke in a suggestive tone. Bucky living at the compound and Y/N’s housemate almost always home meant they never got much alone time without having to worry about Y/N’s housemate hearing what they were up to. “We could even have one together.”

Bucky’s eyes almost popped out of his head, her words catching him by surprise as he pushed himself off of the wall to stand up straight. “I’ll be there soon.”

Y/N chuckled at Bucky’s attempt to try and keep his cool, her heart skipping a beat at his excitement. “Okay, see you soon.”

“Okay.” Bucky breathed through a bashful smile. turning quickly to walk back down the hallway.

— Sam and Steve‘s POV —

Bucky walked back into the room in a slight rush.

“Hey, Buck. We need to talk.” Steve looked Bucky up and down, analysing his body language to test his reaction. No matter how busy he was, Bucky always made time for Steve and vice versa. They were always there for each other.

“Yeah buddy, later. I have to go.” Bucky turned to reply to Steve quickly before walking down the stairs out of sight.

Sam turned around to face Steve, mug in hand as he chuckled. He shook his head, looking up at Cap who was frowning in both confusion and concern.

“Okay, we need to find out what’s going on with him.” Steve crosses his arms, biting the inside of his lip as he racked his brain for any and every possible solution to reason Bucky’s behaviour.

— Bucky’s POV —

“C’mon Buck, we still have to cook it.” Y/N giggled softly as she watched her boyfriend dig his finger into the raw brownie batter they’d just finished mixing.

Bucky lifted the chocolate covered finger towards his mouth, licking off the mixture as he shrugged. “Taste good enough to me.” He smiled cheekily, using his metal arm to pull Y/N against his chest.

She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands playing with his hair as she admired his handsome face. Bucky leaned down to press his lips against hers, the sweet taste of chocolate enticing her in.

She moaned against him, tilting her head as Bucky let his tongue run teasingly over her lips. “How about that shower, hm?” She mumbled against his lips, feeling the kiss heating up fast.

Bucky moaned with a nod, feeling his cock stirring beneath his sweatpants. Y/N made a quick move to turn away from him, putting the brownie mixture in the oven.

He couldn’t help but watch her ass as she bent down, the workout leggings she wore left nothing to the imagination. He bravely moved forward, his hand slapping her ass cheekily as she quickly stood back up.

“Hey!” She shot Bucky a glare, smiling at the same time after she made sure to set the timer on the oven. “Save it for the shower.”

Bucky chuckled in amusement as he followed her down the hallway of her house which he’d become so familiar with. He didn’t go many places outside of the compound, and Y/N’s house felt like his special little hideaway from everything and everyone.

Y/N adjusted the temperature of the shower before removing her clothes, turning around to face Bucky as she did so.

Bucky couldn’t help but get distracted as she undressed, watching her every move. She walked towards him when she was left only in her panties, running her hand over his stomach.

“Need some help?” She offered, looking up at him innocently as she tugged on the tie of his sweatpants.

Bucky clenched his jaw as he looked down at her perky tits, nipples hardened in the cold air. His cock twitched at the sight of her bare skin, his metal hand reaching out to palm her breasts.

Y/N reached her hand inside his sweatpants, grabbing hold of his cock as her mouth dropped opened in shock. “Already so hard, Buck.” She smiled widely, slowly pumping his hard member in her hand.

Bucky let out a shaky breath, his hips bucking into her hand as he tugged on her nipple. Y/N felt her arousal dripping onto her underwear from the thought of his cock inside of her.

“Baby stop or I’ll cum.” Bucky grunted, his face screwing up as he grabbed hold of her hand with his flesh one, his metal hand still full of her boobs.

“I don’t want you to cum until you’re inside me.” Y/N spoke against his lips, giving his cock one last squeeze as she felt her pussy start to ache in need.

Bucky’s cock throbbed at her words, his eyes drawn to watch her pull his track pants down his legs. She tugged his underwear down with them, admiring the way his hard length bounced to slap up against his stomach.

Y/N bit her lip, her hands running up his thick thighs and over his abs, pulling his t-shirt up as she went. Bucky helped her out, lifting the material over his head, leaving him completely naked.

Y/N pushed her chest flush against his, leaning up to kiss him teasingly. Bucky felt her hard nipples rub against his bare chest, her soft skin felt so good against his as he held her waist.

She gave him an open mouth kiss before turning around in his arms, still pressed against his body as Bucky’s cock rubbed over her ass.

“Take them off for me, Buck.” She said softly, guiding his hands to the waist band of her panties.

Bucky complied with her request, pulling them down to her knees before she bent over in front of him to take them off the rest of the way, causing his cock to nudge between her bare ass cheeks.

Bucky groaned at the feeling of his tip in her wetness, quickly pulling her hips tightly against him as he refrained from shoving his cock inside of her.

She smiled cheekily, knowing exactly what she was doing to him as she ground her ass against him, his cock saturated in her juices.

Bucky grabbed her upper arm, pulling her to stand back up, his chest flush against her back. He kissed up her neck, his metal hand sliding down between her thighs to rub her folds, immediately saturated in her slick.

“If you want me to fuck you like that, doll, all you have to do is ask.”

“Bucky!” She giggled softly, almost becoming shy at his filthy words. It was still something she was getting used to, Bucky was her first boyfriend.

He chuckled at her response, spinning her around in his arms to face him. He lifted his flesh hand to cup her cheek, pressing his lips against hers.

Y/N immediately kissed him back, relaxing into his touch as Bucky’s hands slid down to the back of her thighs.

His tongue pushed into her mouth the same time as he lifted her off of the ground, wrapping her legs around his waist as she let out a satisfied moan.

Y/N hugged his neck to hold her up, his thick length laying flush between her folds. She whimpered into his mouth, rubbing her hips forward slightly as Bucky walked them into the shower.

The heat of the water hit them immediately, warming their bodies as Bucky pressed Y/N’s back against the tiled shower wall.

“So gorgeous.” Bucky grunted softly, pecking her lips as he pushed his hips forward. Y/N’s pussy started to ache with a dull emptiness, his cock against her folds wasn’t enough to satisfy her. “I love you so much.”

She smiled into the kiss, tugging on his now dampened hair. “I love you, Bucky.” She looked up into his bright eyes, admiring his beauty as Bucky moved his flesh hand down between their bodies.

He grabbed hold of his cock, lining the tip up with Y/N’s entrance. The intense feeling caused her head to drop against his chest, kissing up the skin where his flesh fused with the metal.

Bucky’s heart fluttered at her touch, still so thankful to have found someone who loved and accepted him for him. It was something that he never thought would happen.

“Baby, please move.” Y/N moaned as her pussy clenched around his tip, causing Bucky to snap back to reality from his thoughts. He pushed his entire length inside her slowly, the tightness of her walls constricting him.

Y/N moaned again when he was fully inside of her, her nails digging into the flexed muscles of his back. Bucky stilled inside of her, knowing she’d need a moment for the stretching pain to subside.

“Oh, fuck.” Y/N panted out in pleasure, her throbbing pussy hungry for more. Bucky bent his head to kiss a line from her collar bone to the underside of her jaw.

He began thrusting his hips slowly, allowing her pussy to adjust to his size. “You don’t have to keep quiet baby,” Bucky moaned into her ear, his breath tickling her skin. “We’ve got the house to ourselves remember?” He picked up his pace a little, his fingers digging into her ass so hard she’d definitely have bruised tomorrow. “Let me hear you.”

Y/N’s head fell back against the shower wall, her eyes closing as she let her moans flow freely. Her thighs clamped around his waist, trying to pull him closer as he fucked into her.

Her pussy clenched around his length, the slapping sound of his balls hitting her wet skin filled the room. It only turned Y/N on even more, that and the fact that they didn’t have to keep quiet for once.

“Bucky.” She moaned out his name shamelessly, arching her back which caused their chests to press together.

Water ran over their bodies as Bucky picked up his pace, already feeling his climax approaching as he listened to her moan his name.

Y/N kept up the volume, knowing it was driving her boyfriend crazy. Bucky stepped towards her, practically squashing her against the tiles.

The new position caused his pelvis to rub against her throbbing clit with every thrust. Y/N felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach, the pulsing of her clit making her toes curl.

She moaned breathlessly between thrusts, his pace quickening as she tugged on his hair.

“Oh fuck.” Bucky moaned, his head dropping back as he chased his high, fucking into her fast and hard.

Her pussy clenched around him with every thrust, the feeling of his big cock deep inside of her was something she didn’t want to end.

She moaned like a pornstar for him, her mouth dropping open as she looked into his eyes. Bucky bit down on his bottom lip, keeping his rough side locked away as he fucked up into her.

“Bucky, oh shit.” Her eyes widened in panic, her cheeks covered in a pink blush as she felt her orgasm taking over. “I’m gunna cum.” She cried, head throwing back against the tiles as she rocked her hips into his.

Bucky watched her in awe, always so proud to be the provider of her pleasure. Her hair stuck to her wet body, her breathing shallow as she continued to moan.

He didn’t let up his pace, watching her tits bounce against his skin as he leaned his head back into her neck.

His moans were muffled in her skin, Y/N’s only getting louder as Bucky fucked her through her orgasm.

Her body was so sensitive, the sound of their skin slapping together had grown louder with his erratic thrusting.

Y/N’s pussy throbbed around his silky length, her arousal dripping onto his balls. She turned her head to kiss him, so fucked out and breathless.

Kissing her made Bucky more determined to chase his high, his hands pinning her hips against the wall as he fucked into her.

“Oh, yes.” Y/N moaned loudly, her hands clinging to any part of him that she could. She panted in unison with his thrusting, Bucky’s face screwing up as he chased his high. “Oh, Bucky, fuck.” She cried out when his cock twitched inside of her.

Bucky felt his orgasm about to hit. “I’m about to cum.” He suddenly moaned, hardly even finishing the sentence before he released his load inside of her.

He dropped her legs to the floor, Y/N almost tumbled at how jelly-like her legs felt. She grabbed onto his biceps to steady herself, Bucky’s hands planted themselves either side of her head on the tiled wall.

He went to kiss her softly, missing her lips because of the way she turned her head. A sudden loud noise from outside catching her attention.

— Sam and Steve’s POV—

“Are you sure?” Steve looked over at Sam in the drivers seat with a slight frown of confusion on his face.

“Yes,” Sam nodded insistingly, turning the engine off which would’ve left them in total darkness if it wasn’t for the light illuminating from the house they sat outside of. “This is the last place F.R.I.D.A.Y traced Bucky’s phone.”

“But it looks like a normal house.” Steve’s frown didn’t leave his face as he stared out of the window, scanning the area for any sign of danger. “In a suburban area, full of civilians.”

He didn’t know what he expected to find when he’d agreed to Sam’s ridiculous plan to spy on Bucky. But it sure as hell wasn’t this. The unknown set off a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he wasn’t fond of. A feeling that made him think the worst.

“Maybe Hydra has finally figured out that creepy warehouses attract more attention than normal houses.” Sam half joked with a scoff, turning his body to take off his seatbelt.

“What are you doing?” Steve’s head immediately whipped round to look at Sam with a worried look on his face. Sam could sometimes be hotheaded and jump into things without a plan, which didn’t sit well with Cap.

“I’m going to check it out.” Sam replied matter-of-factly. He knew that Steve would oppose to what he thought was the best plan of action, so he wasn’t going to ask permission, which he realised wasn’t going to work.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Steve pressed his lips together in a line nervously, his eyes darting back to the location where they’d tracked Bucky.

“Okay, why?” Sam dropped his hand from where it had lifted to open the car door and looked over at Steve. He decided he at least respected Cap enough to listen to his Star Spangled reasoning.

“Well for one, if it is a Hydra location the perimeter will be highly alarmed, not to mention the calibre of dangerous assassins that will be waiting inside, you won’t stand a chance.” Steve sighed, thousands of thoughts bouncing around his mind as he ran his hand through his hair stressfully. “And even if it’s not,” Steve’s voice dropped as his eyes grew worried. “Bucky will know we were tracking him.”

Sam chose to stay silent of a moment, something that didn’t happen very often. He knew Steve had just opened up about the real reason he didn’t want to go charging in like a bull in a china shop. He didn’t want to hurt Bucky. He didn’t want Bucky to feel like his two best friends didn’t trust him. Steve didn’t want to betray Bucky’s character and allow him to know that he had his doubts. That he could become Hydra’s Winter Soldier again.

“Okay, we’ll do it your way.” Sam said softly, a sympathetic smile on his face.

“We’ll start by securing the perimeter, then if, and only if, anything seems off, we’ll move in for closer inspection.” Steve instructed directly, only opening the car door once Sam had nodded in agreement.

They’d chosen not to bring any uniforms or weapons, knowing it would only draw more attention to themselves. Making sure to shut the car doors silently behind them, the pair slowly approached the white picket fence surrounding the property.

Sam veered to the left, Steve to the right as they inspected the location. Nothing seemed off. A few lights in different rooms illuminated the house. The curtains were drawn, making it hard for the two avengers to know exactly what was going on inside.

“No sign of movement on the east side.” Steve whispered, loud enough for Sam to hear as he slowly moved to inspect the gate.

Sam looked over at where Cap was, walking casually to meet him, finding no need to be as stealthy as his partner. “I got nothing on this side either.”

Steve sighed, relaxing a little when he saw no sign of danger. He stood up straight and crossed his arms, he was growing more curious by the second.

“Why this house? This family? In this neighbourhood? Who lives here? There must be some significance. I’ll call Tony and get F.R.I.D.A.Y to run the house through the datab-“

“Shh.” Sam quickly lifted his hand, cutting Steve off as his eyes darted from side to side. There was an eery silence in the street, followed by a muffled sound which made Steve’s ears prick up in attention. “Do you hear that?”

The boys made eye contact, frowns covering both of their faces as they slowly turned towards the house. Sam gestured towards the front door with his head, Steve nodding in agreement as they carefully opened the gate and moved in towards the house.

They crept up the garden path, stomachs sinking as the noise becoming more apparent, informing them they were on the right track.

“It’s coming from around the side.” Steve whispered as he pointed his finger, Sam’s eyes drifted to where Cap was pointing with a nod of acknowledgment.

The pair continued on their search, ears on high alert as they followed the sound down the left side of the house, a small passage which was as dark as the night. They stopped when they got to a room illuminated with light, the small open window too high up on the wall for them to see inside.

Low grunts, loud moans and harsh slapping sounds made both of their faces go pale in fear. It had to be Bucky. But they weren’t his moans, they were the moans of a woman. He wasn’t alone. And it sounded like he was torturing her.

“Shit.” Steve couldn’t help but let the language slip passed his lips as he dropped his head in a sigh, his hands on his hips. He tried to give Bucky the benefit of the doubt, but the evidence was stacked against him.

“What do we do now, Cap?” Sam whispered sadly, he wanted Bucky to be innocent just as much as Steve did. Yes, he would wind up the metal armed soldier at every opportunity that he got, but he had grown fond of him.

“We can’t let this go on.” Steve gestured towards the window where the near enough screams of a women were coming from, knowing they had to act fast as he tried to think up a plan.

“Oh, yes.” The girl moaned before Steve could even begin to think, causing both Sam and Steve to look at each other in surprise. “Oh, Bucky, fuck.” She cried out in pleasure, both boy’s brains ticking over as they tried to catch up with what was happening.

“Oh. My. God.” A cheeky smile washed over Sam’s face as a chuckle erupted from his throat. Steve let his face fall in his hands, humiliated and relieved at the same time.

Steve was thankful that his friend hadn’t been taken over by Hydra again, thankful that he wasn’t causing anyone harm. But now, he was stood in an alleyway listening to his best friend have sex.

Steve, still in shock, shook his head as he looked up at Sam who was still softly chuckling.

“I’m about to cum.” Bucky’s sudden moan caused both boys to snap back to the moment, eyes widening as they realised they didn’t want to be in ear shot when their friend reached his climax.

“Go,” Sam said quickly, his hand lifting to softly push Steve when he didn’t move. “Go, go, go.” He added with a bit more urgency, both boys turning to run from the alleyway in such a hurry that they weren’t looking where they were going.

They didn’t even make it more than a couple of steps before a loud crashing sound came from beneath them. “Shit.” Sam sighed, scrambling to pick up the pipes which he’d knocked over in his rush to get away.

Steve turned around with a sour look in his face, watching Sam try to clean up his mess. There was no way all that commotion would’ve gone unnoticed by the couple inside.

Sam gave Steve a knowing look, the only chance they had of escaping was to make a break for it.

Steve nodded, turning to run back down the alleyway with Sam right behind him. They were almost in the clear, close to the front of the house when a metal arm punched across Steve’s face to stop him running, only missing him by an inch.

Sam stumbled into Steve’s back at his sudden halt, the metal hand twisting to grab Steve by his throat. He was pulled around the corner, his back shoved against the brick wall of the house harshly.

“Steve?” Bucky’s face dropped in shock as he let go of his best friend’s throat. He stepped back and looked to the side, noticing a sheepish looking Sam. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

Steve and Sam both looked at each other before back at Bucky, noticing his wet body only covered by his track pants hanging low on his hips.

“I think the real question is, who are you doing here?” Sam asked cheekily, a cocky smirk on his face which got wiped off as soon as Steve hit his chest in annoyance.

“Bucky, we can ex-“

“How did you- Did you follow me here?” Bucky chose to ignore Sam’s comment, cutting Steve off before crossing his arms as he waited for an explanation.

There was another moment of silence as the two culprits looked at each other once again, saved by a small voice coming from beside them.

“Bucky, everything okay?” Y/N’s soft voice made all three boys turn to face her from where she stood on the porch, a slight whistle coming from Sam as they took in her appearance. Her hair was still wet, her body only covered by the shirt that Bucky had been wearing earlier that night.

Bucky sighed, running his flesh hand through his wet hair, his metal one firmly on his hip. “Yeah, baby. It’s just my friends.” Bucky said the word ‘friends’ through gritted teeth as he glared back at them.

“Oh,” Y/N perked up a little as she pranced down the steps to where they were, almost hiding behind Bucky as she cuddled his flesh arm. “I apologise for my appearance. If Bucky had told me you were coming I would’ve been more prepared.” She giggled softly, her reaction to the whole situation made all three boys frown in confusion.

They’d expected her to yell, to ask what the hell they were doing around the side of her house, to kick them out, to yell at Bucky for telling his friends about them without consulting her first, to just walk back into the house and ignore them. In that moment, Bucky knew she was a keeper.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Y/N spoke as the two boys opposite just blinked, half surprised that Bucky actually kept such a secret from them for this long. “I’m Y/N.” She held out her hand.

“Steve Rogers.” Steve immediately responded, stepping forward to shake her hand with a sweet smile.

“I’m Sam.” Sam followed, shaking her hand as

Bucky, still half confused about why his best friends were there, wrapped his arm around Y/N’s waist. “So are you two-“ Sam dragged out the words.

“She’s my girlfriend.” Bucky responded shortly, Y/N’s heart fluttering at the word, something that was only shared between the two of them until now.

“Well we should all probably move inside, it’s a bit chilly out here tonight.” Y/N offered sweetly, gesturing towards the front door. “I hope you guys like brownies.”

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