#sometimes instead of drawing them how i usually do i mentally throw a dart at the many various bangs he’s had over the years

[wintercosmicskye]

“Oh, don’t worry! It’s just some watermelon juice!” 🍉💔

Was originally working on something else when i suddenly had this idea so i made this first instead lol. I noticed a few mistakes with it after staring at it for awhile, but by then there were too many layers for me to try and fix them

His heart is what is in his right hand in the darker version, i just put a glitchy censor thing over the spot

Here are the two main images:

And these are the in betweens

[shyrose57]

AU(s) where all the mod videos Tommy does, along with some other videos, are all alternate universes, and their residents end up in the SMP. Chaos ensues.��

Voice Mod AU:

Universe where nobody talks aloud. They telepathically communicate, and the closer you are, the clearer and louder you are, unless you have the control the lower your mental voice.

Why?

Post-apocalyptic world(because Tommy said welcome to the new world at the start, and I too that and ran with it). They’re the new versions of humans, created after life returned on the planett, and the telepathy is a survival method, because outward noise draws predators, inner noise does not. 

This also means they possibly have some other features similar to that. Like maybe Quackity’s duck wings being from some newly evolved duck species in the new world, Wilbur being a bit abnormally tall, or similar. I’m not sure. 

Oh hey, no, Wilbur can be like a tree hybrid or something, cause Treebur. 

Basically, evolution and telepathy.

Wilbur has a horse named Bert, he is speedy, and spends just as much time dragging his owner out of trouble than he does riding him into it.

The gang is basically just traveling the lands, exploring what’s about.

There are fish-horses, ender-horses, spider-horses, silverfish ponies, and horses that are somewhat like a breed between llamas and sheep in the world.

There are a lot of new horse breeds.

The Quackity of this universe wears clothes a lot like Manhunt Dream’s, hoodie-wise, but it’s all bright blue, and his mask has the :] face on it.

Size Mod AU:

Universe where people can shift and change sizes, though only to certain ones.

For example, Wilbur’s stuck small. He can shift to the size of a small dog, height wise, or that of a flower, but he can’t get big. Quackity can go smaller than Wilbur, or literally bigger than the Enderdragon. Both Tommy can be normal sized, or big, and Phil’s can be about the size of a tree, or become the size of a small mountain. 

They all live in a nice house in the plains and spend their time terrorizing the locals.

Wilbur has a little house within the house, and he uses his size to cause havoc more often than not. Quackity is equally guilty of this.

Sometimes when the kids are being particularly bad, Phil puts the smaller ones in a compost bin and holds Tommy off the ground until he starts behaving. 

Quackity’s a follower of the Blood God. Not to Techno’s length, but he goes and kills rabbits for him, and dedicates the chaos his giant form causes to the guy. In return, the four always have a flourishing harvest, and Quackity’s absolutely mean in battle. 

Wilbur sleeps in one of Tommy’s old shoes that he stole and made into a bed.

Honestly, Wilbur’s kind of like the house mouse. He steals stuff and vibes in his little home in the walls. The cats that occasionally slip in try to eat him a lot too.

Wilbur and Quackity are bird hybrids, Tommy’s a zombie hybrid(cause he’s fighting a zombie and saying ‘I burn’ at that little bit), and Phil’s an iron golem hybrid.

Quackity and WIlbur have little bird-houses set up around the area for them to dart into and hide if anything comes after them.

They all met when tiny Q and Wilbur tried to rob Tommy and Phil. They succeeded with Tommy, but Phil was less than impressed at the attempt. Somehow it resulted in them all sharing a house.

Dragon Mod AU:

Universe set in more medieval-themed world. Phil, Quackity, and Tommy are dragon hunters. Wilbur’s a mischievous dragon sorcerer who enjoys shapeshifting into a dragon to mess with people. The hunters were originally sent after him, but spent more time frantically running for their lives while he laughed at them.

Wilbur’s actually good friends with the actual Enderdragon, who he calls Keithette. It was with her blessing that he decided to pick on the hunters.

He just spends all of his time messing with them. That’s all he does. He messes with them. It’s originally more malicious, which means they had a ridiculous amount of deaths, but they eventually all grew fond of each other, so now it’s more playful. 

He helps them find treasure and scares off rivals. 

Tommy’s a trained medic. 

Quackity and Wilbur are...something? It’s a Skephalo situation. They could just be very affectionate friends, or they could be dating, or they could be messing with everyone. Nobody knows, and everytime they think they’ve figured it out, the two seem to magically know and do something to throw them off.

They’ve confused many, many people with their antics. 

(They’re probably messing with people though, because they definitely know what they’re doing)

When the actual Enderdragon and her egg mysteriously went missing, Wilbur rounded up his friends and asked for their help in finding her-so now the group is on a quest to find her and return her to the End.

Natural Disaster Mod AU:

Universe where world ending natural disasters just keep happening. It killed off a lot of people, but honestly, at this point, it’s been going on for years, and those that remain are pretty used to it.

Tubbo and Wilbur are followers of the Mule God, and were brought together by him. Jack and Tommy are two good friends who came together to survive. And Phil’s a top-tier survivalist who keeps an eye on the four, mostly because he’d feel bad if they died too often while they live in the area.

Though they’re all three different groups, they stick together and help each other out.

Tommy and Tubbo were childhood friends before the disasters separated them. A young Jack found Tommy and took him in, and Tubbo was saved and blessed by the Mule God. They’re still friends, but have somewhat grown apart with their differing lifestyles. 

Tommy’s a penguin hybrid. 

Tubbo and Wilbur have been known to try and scam people passing by, and they have tried this with everyone in the area too-the difference is the ones who stick around know better than to buy it. 

Whenever Tommy wants to hang out, he declares he’s rescuing Tubbo, and steals him from whatever he’s doing. Wilbur has long since accepted that occasionally Tubbo is going to be stolen, and doesn’t even blink anymore. 

Tommy wears green, and Tubbo wears red. 

Storm riding is a favored sport of Tubbo’s, where you grab a hang glider and get swept up into the storm. Jack hates it, but often gets dragged along anyway. 

Morph Mod AU:

Universe where shapeshifters are more common, and Tommy, Charlie, Phil, Schlatt, and Wilbur are all a clan of them. 

They co-exist with humans, and actually protect the local villages they live close too. 

They also spend a lot of time messing with people outside said villages, but that’s unimportant. 

Charlie and Wilbur prefer to be aquatic creatures. while Phil transforms into whatever works better for the environment he’s in. Schlatt just does whatever, and Tommy usually sticks to human form, only shifting when he’s bored or he needs too. 

Wilbur tried to transform into a horse once, while in fish form. He’s not sure what exactly happened, but long story short, he’s the reason for the myth of the hippocampus.

They have a house in the village, one out, and then general little areas meant for them in animal form. 

Because shapeshifters are strongly group-oriented, they prefer to shift in pairs or groups. Charlie and Wilbur typically pair up, as do Schlatt and Tommy. Philza doesn’t really have that instinct as strongly, so he just stays close to them instead. 

Laser Eye Mod AU:

Universe set in a futuristic setting, where, due to an ancient void deity becoming malicious, Tommy, Phil, Charlie, and Wilbur are selected to become plasma wielding cyber warriors(futuristic magical girls, basically) to fight back against such threats.

These four’s cybernetics were embued with magic to produce specific plasma that would be effective against threats.

Phil wields divine plasma, and it’s fired out from his cybernetic wings, which were implanted as a military experiment. He can even detach a feather to act as a plasma covered sword.

Tommy wields phoenix plasma, and it’s fired out of his cybernetic eyes, which were transplanted into him when he was in an accident young, rendering him blind. They allow him to see by scanning out the outlines of objects and areas, and feeding the image into his brain.

Wilbur wields soulfire plasma, which is fired from his prosthetic legs, which have a kind of mermaid-motif, with fins and all, and make him a fast swimmer.

And Charlie wields greekfire plasma, fired from his cybernetic arm-it can also fire slime-like globs that rapidly grow and incase the area they’re attached too. 

Wilbur was actually the first selected for the program, but he went missing shortly after, stolen and controlled by the void deity, who turned him into quite the obstacle for the others.

They eventually rescued him from it’s control, and after he recovered, he joined the fight. 

Endermen and endermen hybrids are common minions of the void deity-it seems to have End-based origins, being able to control them.

Lava Ravine Mod AU:

Universe where Phil, Charlie, Wilbur, and Tommy are all strangers, who get a mysterious invite to an unknown world. It seems like a lovely vacation at first, strangers aside, but things turn deadly when a seemingly normal ravine in the ground begins to grow, the lava inside it begins to rise, and our heroes find themselves unable to leave the world.

They soon realized they may have been selected for their ability to survive, but to do that, they’re going to have to all work together.

Tommyinnit originates from the world of RLcraft, Phil grew up in Hardcore Mode, Charlie is a fallen god from a world of chaos, and Wilbur has lived through a world like this before.

They build a giant glass and stone dome, and live within there, using their various skills to survive. 

Wilbur pretty much knows how this world works to a T, and is able to predict when the lava will raise and how quickly. He knows how to survive and work around the heat.

Tommy and Phil have a variety of skills from their lives before, not limited to first aid and cooking.

And Charlie’s got a bit of godly power he can put to good use here, as well as many out-of-the-box ideas for what to do.

Charlie brought a card-game from his old world, and teaches Wilbur how to play. It becomes a favorite past time of theirs. 

Jump Mod AU:

Universe where enhanced individuals have recently begun to exist. Tommy, Wilbur, and Quackity are some of many who choose to use their new abilities for their own gain, becoming thieves. They were taken under the wing of master thief Philza, who was in the game long before he gained his new powers.

Or, well, they were thieves. A job gone wrong resulted in them being caught by authorities, and forced into a deal. Once thieves for their own gain, now they’re agents for the government, stealing back what was stolen from their country. 

All of them are generally more physically enhanced, with agility, endurance, and all that jazz. But they also have other abilities. 

Tommy’s faster than anyone. Wilbur can refract light, essentially becoming invisible. Phil can communicate with birds. And Quackity can change the density of anything he touches, himself excluded. 

Philza was actually caught because he stayed behind for his new partners. He had realized someone was looking into them, and didn’t want the younger ones going into that alone. 

TNT Mod AU:

Universe where everyone is a mob hybrid, and they live divided in tribes. Tommy, Phil, Charlie, and Wilbur are a tribe/keg of creeper hybrids, who protect their territory, and cause havoc for any trespassers who happens upon them.

No one dares settle there, because these four are just as likely to swear a village’s protection as they are to laugh as they set it ablaze. It’s purely up to how they feel at the moment, finicky keg that they are. 

However, there is a reason some do venture here. 

Every tribe/(name for grouping of specific mob) guards a certain treasure. For the creeper boys, it’s an orchard of apple trees that grow, not only red apples, but gold ones too-and rarely, a god apple.

If you do happen to stumble upon their territory unintentionally, your best bet is to appeal to Wilbur, as he does have a soft spot for people-of course, you’ll need to make sure none of the others think you’re taking advantage of that soft spot, lest they slowly and painfully kill you for even considering it.

Creepers are very friendly to them, and see them as one of their own. Other mobs, not so much.

The orchard is surrounded by a dense forest, that’s abruptly lets up to a clearing that rings around it. This is where the keg lives, in high tree houses all connected to one another.

Their forest is their pride and joy, and it’s filled with many exotic trees and plants from around the world. Bringing them an addition for it is a sure way to assure your survival, and even gain an alliance, if it’s a really good addition.

Likewise, messing it up even slightly will immediately get you murdered.

Black Hole Mod AU:

Universe where the sun exploded and became a black hole that’s slowly consuming the world. Though many perished, some survived, with the advanced technology in the future.

Wilbur, Charlie, Phil, and Tommy are some of those survivors. 

Charlie is a scientist, studying the black hole to see if there’s anyway to perhaps stop it, or survive within it once it consumes them.

Phil’s a former mercenary who came to the lab with Tommy, after finding the young student stumbling about the remains of a city.

Wilbur’s the former on-board scientist from the crew that first encountered the black hole. He was originally presumed dead, but suddenly reappeared one day, and was found nearby by Phil, who dragged him to the lab. He’s...different. He’s seen things.

Charlie and Wilbur graduated from the same university, and were actually working in the same lab before Wilbur joined his crew in space for an up-close study.

Philza has a bad habit of adopting any creature he finds, and it’s become something of a joke by the four. He adopted Tommy, he’s adopted Wilbur and Charlie, and he has quite a few birds and other creatures that followed him back.

Body Shuffle Mod AU:

Universe where glitches a common sight, and humanity has evolved alongside them.

The world basically...well, I wouldn’t say revolves around? But glitches are a large part of life at this point, and players have specifically evolved to be able to work with them.

A common glitch includes the Body Glitch, where random body parts will seemingly vanish off a person without causing them harm or effecting them.

Tommy and Charlie are Takers, people who have a special, glitch-specific gene that allows them to take a glitch effecting a being or item, and pull that effect from said being/item, and upon themselves.

They’re equally loved and hated, considering the rarity of the gene, and what uses it could be employed for.

The two have a business that they use this ability to take and relocate glitches for various purposes.

Philza and Wilbur are the two’s bodyguards turned friends, who protect them from less savory people, and suss out the ones with bad intentions.

Gas Mod AU:

Universe set in a modern fantasy world where a mysterious gas suddenly overtook the planet. Many died. A few survived-but for some of them, that was the crueler fate, as the mysterious gas began to make them monsterous creatures that sought flesh and blood.

Tommy, Charlie, Phil and Wilbur are the scattered survivors in a city overtaken by the gas, banding together to fight back the monsters born from the green fog, and stay alive. 

Wilbur was formerly a cartographer on a ship. He’s also half siren, and his most priceless possession is a diamond dagger given to him by his former captain.

Charlie is a doctor, as well as a wizard. His magic pet is a slime-like dragon. Yeah, he’s not sure where the little guy came from either.

Phil got a whole cocktail of heritage, but most are sky-related, so he’s got a strong grasp on air magic, which he uses to create safe bubbles for the gang to breathe freely.

And Tommy’s a low tier human-turned demon after death- an imp, basically. He causes havoc.

They all have to wear gas mask, which are heavily enchanted to keep the gas from affecting them.

The group basically just has a weirdly domestic life in the abandoned city, after they cleared out an abandoned apartment building to chill in.

Surgery Mod:

Universe where the gang are the experiments of a mad scientist having escaped.

Tommy is a poison-based experiment, Wilbur is a Nether-based one, Philza is an End-based experiment, and Charlie is an Over-world based one.

They were all grouped together in a cell because the older three are part of the Dimension Project, and Tommy accidentally imprinted on Wilbur when he was created, meaning he would have died if he was separated from him.

The four eventually decide that they hate this life, and stage a break out with the rest of the guys experiments. 

Once they escaped, they decided to travel the world as a family, exploring everything they’d never had the chance to see, and finding where they belonged in this place.

Lava Floor Mod AU:

Universe where all the oceans in the world have been replaced by lava. For Ninja, Tommy, Wilbur, and George, their get-along vacation goes south when they’re stranded alone on a chain of distant islands, far from any sign of civilization. 

If they ever hope to survive, they’ll have to put their issues to the side and work together to get to the one place unaffected-the Nether.

Tommy ‘Smokes’ Notfound, and Wilbur ‘Soot’ Fortnite are the two children of the struggling couple George ‘Specs’ Notfound and Ninja ‘Bow’ Fortnite, who haven’t seen each other in years, despite still being married.

The two, knowing how close their kids were, agree to meet up so the two can hang out, which is why they ended up on this vacation on the first place. 

Wilbur and Smokes would really appreciate if their parents could get along too-it’d make vacation a lot nicer without all the tension. And yes, they could worry about all the oceans turning to lava, but they won’t. Instead, they’re going to be gremlins who try to get their parents to make up, whether that means divorce, or becoming a happy couple again.

Rising Void Mod AU:

Universe where the planets are being eaten by the void. Tommy, Philza, and Quackity are all aliens who managed to escape the demise of their home planets, and crashed landed on Earth, with the intention of warning them of what was coming.

Unfortunately, the only guy around for miles is Ranboo, a conspiracy theorist who prefers his isolated mountain cabin to the city...and also is in complete denial about the existence of aliens, even if they’re standing right in front of him. 

Quackity is from a planet where ores and gems have a large part of fashion culture.

Tommy’s planet was the first to fall. However, Quackity was the one who was closest to be touching, and it leaves side effects-like him occasionally hearing it’s eldritch whispering calling for him to surrender himself to it and stop fighting-

But, y’know. It’s fine. It’s all good.

(Although he does happen to be the most aware of their inevitable fate, and uses humor to cope with the knowledge that no matter how hard they try, he and these people he’s grown to care for are going to die, and there’s absolutely no way to stop that)

Sky Grid Mod AU

Universe where Ranboo is a young, lonely god born to a grid-formed world. Though he has made many interesting creations, he decides he wants someone like him. Who can listen, and answer, and love, and hate.

And the universe loves him, so it answers.

It finds two souls who’ve died too young, and puts them into his hands to mold as he wishes. One, he creates in colors of green, like grass, and emeralds, and poison alike. The other, he creates in colors of red, like lava and poppies, and warm beds.

Their names are Tubbo and Tommy, and they’re different than what he thought they’d be. They cannot be controlled or remade, but they can bleed, and they can laugh, and most importantly, they can make choices.

And they choose to love him, taking him in their embrace as a friend, treating him kindly, and as one of their own, regardless of his power or abilities. 

The three make a home in the gridded world, finding themselves and never fearing the fall, because the world loves both it’s godling, and the people made within it.

Terraforming The Moon AU:

Universe where the remains of humanity have fled to the moon upon the destruction of earth. They unintentionally awake age-old space deities, who, luckily for them, feel like lending a hand-mostly. 

Wilbur is the only actual deity of the moon, but the rest of the SBI spend more time there than they don’t, because humans are interesting.

Tommy’s the youngest god, a deity of the stars within their young galaxy-it’s a position that was passed onto him by the former star deity, Clara.

Technoblade is the deity of both Mars and Venus. He’s actually been to Earth a few times before it’s destruction, and finds their cultures fascinating-particularly the Greek and Romans.

Philza is the god of the End. The oldest, he’s not just a deity, he’s a primordial of the end of all things. Truthfully, it was the very end of Earth that awoke him from his slumber, and it’s former inhabitants interesting lives that keep him awake.

They all pick a human to favor, and help out. Changes on the day.

Honestly, they aren’t necessarily malicious? They don’t really consider the fact that humans don’t have the same limitations and powers as them, so occasionally they fuck something up that somebody worked hard on, and don’t understand why they don’t just fix it already, not realizing that the humans actually have to take awhile to do that.

One Hundred Player Laboratory AU:

Universe set in modern time. 

Wilbur and Technoblade are two university students trying to do a study for their finals-unfortunately, the rats they were supposed to use are both oddly sentient, and incredibly chaotic.

Techno and Wilbur are doing a study of behavior, and other scientific things. To do this, Techno has built a large, complex maze/building thing.

And Wilbur purchased a bunch of rats-except, he probably should have been a bit more careful who he bought from, becomes these rats definitely understand human speech, are all not normally colored, and desire to be as annoying and detrimental to their grades as possible.

To put it lightly, it’s not going well.

George’s If You Laugh You Lose Rematch AU:

Universe set in a chaotic, light-hearted world.

Sapnap, Karl, George, and Dream are some of the world’s residents.

Karl and Dream are chaotic shapeshifters who enjoy messing with George.

Sapnap’s a mischievous nether spirit who likes to team up and help them do it.

Karl can shift into objects, and Dream can turn into animals. 

The whole world is comedic, and all it’s residents have a permanent case of the giggles-to the point of making a game of how long one can hold off laughing.

Sapnap usually takes the form of an enderman or enderman hybrid 

[inactive-shroomiehomie]

SFW Alphabet - Sonny Carisi

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Sonny loves holding you anyway he can. He’s a big physical affection type of guy! Sitting casually in his lap on the couch, Sonny towering behind you with his arms hugging your shoulders from behind. He doesn’t like smooching or being too cuddly in public, but he just can’t stay away from you !

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

It doesn’t matter how long he’s known you, Dominick is a loyal friend. If he goes against you in anyway, he has a pretty damn good reason or it’s for your own good. If you’re in a bad mood, Sonny would come over and cook for you and you two would goof around until he had to go back home or until he passed out on your couch.

You are both night-time law students and you get to arguing over some study case you were both given for an assignment- and you out smart him. He starts laughing in disbelief and offers to buy you a coffee. Then you two are hanging out at the bar after classes, throwing darts and throwing back drinks. 

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

As previously stated, Carisi is a big ol’ snuggler. He’s also a personal heater when it comes to sleeping at night and it can be a blessing on those chilly New York nights.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Sonny + Cooking = ♥

Sonny + Cleaning= :/ (He’s a bit of a germaphobe, but he doesn’t know how to pick up after him self more than he should.)

You’ve talked about it before, and while you both agree bringing children into the world when their Dad would have to see and hear the things he does at work on a daily basis would be horrible, having a kid or two wouldn’t be horrible. Plus, Dominick is so great with children, especially babies. From his own nieces to Rollins’ two girls; He can quiet a screaming child in seconds and it mesmerizes you each time.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Face to Face. If you were committed enough to be in the relationship for however long, you should have the guts to end whatever it is to the other persons’ face.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Sonny would feel horrible anxiety about proposing to you. He definitely wants to be with you until you��re both worm food, but he’s been on the job long enough to see what happens to marriages when someone works this kind of job. But you’re in it for the long haul, and he just has to accept that.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

The human embodiment of a golden retriever is the perfect way to describe Sonny. Loyal, sweet, patient. But if you betray their trust it’s suuuuper hard to get it back.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

When Carisi hugs you, it’s like being bundled up tight for winter, but not suffocating. His chest is firm and comfortable and no matter the hug type, he always draws circles on your lower back, just to make you smile.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

You were actually the first to say it. It was an over-excited slip, but you still meant it 100%. And unbeknownst to know, Carisi wanted to say it week two of knowing you.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He’s not a jealous of possessive man. The most jealous he’s behaved is whenever he’s in a clingy mood and you’re at work or hanging out with Rollins and Olivia without him. But he’s still very protective of you and watches your back.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Carisi loves to kiss the top of your head or the back of your neck. Nothing weird, just a quick peck. The back-of-your-neck kisses would sometimes release a giggle from you and it would end up with him pinning you down and tickling you ‘til you cried.~

But you love to kiss his cheeks and hands. It’s hard to describe, but wanting to kiss him on the cheek as the same mental effect as a crow wanting to bring a bright, shiny thing back to the nest for it’s mate.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Again, Carisi is an amazing person with children. He’ll make an amazing father one day.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He’s a morning bird. Always up before you with coffee or sometimes food if he had time. But he always made sure- unless it was urgent business- he would wake you up with a sweet his on the cheek or gently rocking you until you came too.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Unless it’s a day off, you rarely get to see him. (ADA or Detective) But on the nights where he gets home early, you both talk about your days and how they went. Dinner, snuggling on the couch, and sometimes you’ll even show him some of your personal projects you’ve been working on. 

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Along side being the prefect cook and great  with kids, he’s a chatter box. He doesn’t just blurt out things weird like, “I used to spank it to Opera 24/7.” On the first day or anything. Just threw things into casual conversation or when you asked. But if anyone said something about a good home cooked meal, he wouldn’t shut up about the 5 different foods his mama used to make for hi.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He works for a sex crimes division. You have to do something pretty horrible to beat that. You’ve had your fair share of fights though. Between his Italian blood and whatever you were arguing about, he could be stuck on an argument for longer than you would be.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Maybe golden retriever wasn’t an accurate description of what he was. More so like.... a wiener-dog-chihuahua mix. Dorky, but brain still smart and ticking. R  Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Yet somehow, he can’t find his damn phone charger.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Sonny knows you can take care of yourself, but being a part of the NYPD, he'a naturally protective. If you need help getting away from a guy Carisi is on you in seconds, flashing his gun and badge.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Carisi spoils you. He's usually the one to cook when you two have time for dinner and there's never not homemade sweets in the house.

But on your anniversaries, Carisi would make you breakfast in bed and the two of you would make sure to take off from work for the day. Lounging and enjoying one another's company until Carisi would send you to the grocery to get dinner supplies and he can have time to decorate the apartment.

Your favorite scented candles, light pink rose petals, soft music. All the beautiful cliche shit that's just so cheesy and sweet enough to make your heart melt.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Your schedules tend to not overlap. So when he gets home or gets ready for work, he will sometimes leave his dirty laundry around the house and his filthy dishes in his sink.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

His hair, yes. Otherwise, Sonny couldn't give two shits what he looked like. And you coupdn't either.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

"Before you I felt like used tea bag. Already fulfilled my purpose with nothing else left. Then you came around and gave me new purpose. Instead of tea, you made me into a bath bomb. Or a soap scrub."

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Not being able to see him in person for a few days at time or before 11:30pm should be something his partner should be able to deal with. And being able to appreciate his friends and family like he does.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Carisi REFUSES to admit, but the backs of his knees are super ticklish. Sometimes when you're cuddling, you "accidentally" brush your feet up against the back of his knee and he practically falls off of the couch spasming. It's the cutest thing.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Carisi would definitely be a sleep talker. He'd also be the person that if you tried to get up without him, he would hold onto you tighter in his sleep. You think he may be awake sometimes when he does that, but Sonny neither denies or admits that to being true.

[gaylotusthatexists]

an explosive birthday

pairing: platonic intrulogical and dukeceit

summary: It’s Remus birthday, but everyone else has seemed to have forgotten. He decides to torment Thomas to celebrate.

trigger warnings: sympathetic janus, remus is kinda morally grey ig?, some disturbing imagery (remus related), blood mention, please let me know if i need to add anything

word count: 2261

a/n: happy birthday to my favourite trash man!!!!!!!!! i would like to apologise to him for what i just put him through, but i do love him and hope he has a nice day (better than what he got in this fic ahsjsh). yeah, hope y’all enjoy tho <3

ao3

Remus stared up at his ceiling, eyes wide open and mind racing. He hadn't seen Janus in a while, not since the wedding. He hadn't been bothering Thomas, either - it was no fun when Thomas just brushed him away, and Thomas had a lot more things to be dealing with right now anyway. The only contact he'd had with anyone else was with Roman, who still wandered in and out of their shared bedroom, sometimes crying and sometimes just looking tired. Since the wedding, Remus had spent the majority of his time staring at the ceiling, occasionally heading into the Imagination to kill some things but mostly just staring at the ceiling, deep in thoughts he wished he didn't have.

He picked up his phone and decided to continue reading that... online novel he'd been reading, not really taking in any of the words or even caring about it but enjoying the feeling of his thumb sliding over the screen, a nice change from his fingernails digging into his skin. Deciding this this was boring, he locked his phone, only to turn it back on a moment later and stare at his lock-screen. A photo of him and Janus, a manic look in Remus' eyes and a bored expression on Janus' face, with a burning building behind them. Remus remembered that - it was for his birthday last year, Janus had taken him into the Imagination for a night of crime and light arson, an activity that Remus always loved.

Huh. He glanced up at the date on his phone, noticing that it was his birthday. Damn - had it really been that long since the wedding? Surely...

He sat up in bed, cringing a little at how the sudden movement caused his head to ache. He slowly began to rub his temple, fingernails scratching against his skin a little too hard and possibly drawing blood. Hmm. It was already midday, according to the time on his screen and judging by the sun seeping into his room, and nobody had come to wish him a happy birthday yet. That... wasn't exactly unusual, he supposed, but Janus - and Virgil, before he left - always used to throw him some sort of party, and back when they had a more civil relationship Roman used to at least acknowledge his birthday. Thinking about it, though, he hadn't actually seen Roman in a week or so...

Well. He hummed, deciding that maybe he should leave his room for today. It was a special occasion, after all, and it had been a while since Remus had eaten anything other than his own hair or his deodorant - he'd actually ran out of deodorant to chew on a couple weeks ago, he needed to steal some more at some point. He doubted that anyone actually remembered or even cared about his birthday - they'd all seemed to have forgotten about his existence, at the very least - but maybe he could have a little fun. Who to bother, though...

Remus clicked his fingers and appearing next to Thomas in the kitchen, draping himself over Thomas' body. "Hey, Thomas!"

"Gah!" Thomas exclaimed, jumping away from Remus and pointing a spoon at him somewhat threateningly.

A grin grew across Remus' face as he leapt up onto the counter, swinging his legs back and forth. "Wouldn't it be fun if the oven just... exploded, right now? Fire everywhere, you blown to pieces, one arm over there, a leg over here-"

"What are you doing here?" Thomas interrupted, his arm shaking.

Remus pulled his legs up onto the counter and sat crosslegged, propping his elbows up on his knees and resting his chin on his hands. "I want to talk to you! Don't you wanna hang out with your dear ol' Duke?" He felt something wet land on his hand, something dribbling down his chin. Blood - that was just a little concerning, he'd made a mental note to investigate the blood dripping out his mouth later. For now, though, he just sucked it back up, eyes lighting up at the look of disgust on Thomas' face.

Logan stepped into the kitchen, took one look at Remus, and sighed. "Remus, would you get off the kitchen counter, it's incredibly unsanitary."

Remus pouted. "Everyone else sits on the counter and you never complain about them!"

"Yes, but the rest of us shower," Logan pointed out.

Thomas moved closer to Logan, hiding behind him. "Logan, help, please."

Logan sighed again. "Remus, may I inquire why you are bothering Thomas right now?"

"It's my job!" Remus answered. "Do you want me to not do my job?"

"Your job is to make Thomas aware of the more... mature aspects of creativity, not to scare him for the sake of it."

Remus jumped off the counter and stepped towards Logan. He grabbed his tie and pulled him closer, so their faces were only inches apart. "More mature ideas, huh?" He smirked, raising an eyebrow.

A look of pure disgust arose across Thomas' face. "Ew! Gross! Can you- Can you not?"

Logan didn't move from his position or even seem to flinch when one of Remus' tentacles attached itself to Logan's shoulder, but his eyes did quickly dart over to Thomas. "Thomas, why don't you go somewhere else, I'll take care of Remus for now?"

Thomas eagerly escaped, leaving Remus alone with Logan. Logan looked back towards Remus, staring into his eyes for a solid few minutes, neither saying a word, before Remus just broke. Tears starting pouring down Remus' face, and Logan started to look vaguely uncomfortable, stepping back. Remus let go of Logan's tie and stumbled back towards the counter, leaning against it and trying to take some breaths to calm himself down. He didn't even know what was wrong - he wasn't upset, was he? It was very rare that Remus got upset. He thrived off making other people upset, why would he be upset himself?

"Uh, Remus?" Logan asked, stepping towards him again and slowly lifting a hand. "Are you-"

Remus grabbed his wrist in midair before Logan could place a hand on his shoulder. Logan stopped, beginning to look just a little afraid. That just made Remus' insides hurt even more, like all his guts where trying to push out, or like his heart was about to explode. Under any other circumstances, he imagined he would have enjoyed that, or at least enjoyed the looks on the others faces when they saw all his internal organs burst right out of his chest, but in that moment all he wanted was for the feeling to stop so he could maybe torment Logan a little more, let out a little steam.

Remus let go of Logan's wrist and moved away again, now just looking at Logan with... fear in his eyes, as Logan began to rub the red mark forming on his wrist. Without another word, Remus sank out and reappeared on his bed, crying into his pillow. Today wasn't going the way he planned.

~*~

It had been a couple hours since his encounter with Remus in the kitchen, and the curiosity still plagued Logan's mind. What had gone on in there? Logan had never seen Remus like that.

It was strange, as well, that Remus suddenly decided to be a nuisance again. He'd been quiet recently, and, thanks to Janus' help, Thomas was in a much better state mentally. Logan couldn't even begin to imagine why Remus would have been so upset, or why he looked... even worse than usual, somehow dirtier and more unkempt than he always was.

It was due to this concern that Logan found himself outside of Janus' bedroom door, a hand hovering over the wood as he tried to find the courage to knock. Logan didn't have a terrible relationship with Janus, he supposed, although he couldn't really say they were the best of friends, either. He'd certainly never gone into Janus' room before, never even considered that he may need to in the future, but here he was, right outside.

Before Logan got chance to knock, the door slowly opened, revealing Janus on the other side. "Logan," he said, sound a little surprised, "come to lecture me, have you?"

Logan frowned. "What? No." Janus seemed surprised at that, as well. "I... have some concerns that I want to talk to you about. Nothing to do with you or Thomas, I just... you're the only side I can really talk to about this."

Janus hummed, before stepping aside, allowing Logan to enter the room. It looked pretty much like Logan had imagined - walls painted yellow, musical posters hung up, a clothes rack filled with various disguises, and a couple snakes crawling over his desk. Janus went to sit down on his bed and Logan considered sitting down at the desk, but decided against it due to the snakes, one of which was slowly wrapping around the chair, and instead Logan opted to just stand up near the exit.

He breathed in. "Has... Has Remus been acting a little weird recently?"

Janus blinked. "Remus? I..." He glanced down at the floor. "I haven't seen him, actually. Y'know, been a little busy the last week or so working out Thomas' skin care routine."

"Yes, Janus, you're doing a great job on that, by the way."

Janus bowed his head. "Thank you." He looked back up at Logan. "Is there... something wrong with Remus, though? I suppose he has been pretty quiet lately."

"I don't know if there's anything wrong," Logan admitted, "but I spoke with him earlier in the kitchen... sort of. He- He started crying, and he looked a little worse for wear, and it just... got me thinking."

Janus hummed. He sat there for a while, staring at the floor, before his eyes widened and he rushed back to his desk, carefully removing one of the snakes and looking at his calendar. He swore under his breath.

"What?" Logan asked, stepping to the side to move away from the snake now trying to escape the room. "What is it?"

"It's his birthday today."

~*~

Remus found himself staring at the ceiling again, his foot bouncing up and down. He considered breaking into Janus' room and stealing his wine - even if he did hate the taste, it would at least calm his thoughts down a little. But he couldn't seem to get his body to move. Janus wouldn't want Remus in his bedroom, anyway - there must have been a reason that Janus hadn't spoken to him since the wedding, and... if Janus didn't want to be his friend anymore, than fine, in all honestly Remus didn't blame him. Remus was hard to deal with and not a brilliant friend and honestly caused more harm than good, and he knew that. Remus knew now that Janus hated him, and that was perfectly fine - he just wished he didn't come to that realisation on his birthday.

He already knew that the others hated him, anyway. Thomas first reaction to seeing him earlier was just to scream, and then run away as soon as possible. Virgil had hated Remus ever since he left, Patton had always hated Remus, and Roman was... Roman wasn't too bad, although Remus couldn't remember the last time the two of them had a real conversation that didn't just end in insults back and forth. He supposed that Logan earlier hadn't seemed to hate him entirely, although it was obvious that Remus was making him uncomfortable, which meant it was likely that Logan didn't like him either.

He heard his bedroom door open, but didn't tear his eyes away from the spot on the ceiling. It was probably just Roman, back for another few days of sulking - that seemed to be his routine recently, a week or so with the others and then a few days of crying on his bed. Remus didn't really have it in him to care, Roman could do whatever he wanted with his life.

What Remus wasn't expecting was for Roman to scoop him up in his arms and hold him tight. Remus stiffened at the sudden human contact, not entirely sure how to respond - even back when he was still friends with Janus and Virgil, they'd never hug him like this. But...

"Happy birthday, Remus," a voice whispered into his ear. That wasn't Roman. That was...

"Janus?" Remus let out. Janus pulled away from the hug, much to Remus' disappointment. "What are you..."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to remember," Janus said. "And... And that I haven't really been there for you recently. Are you- Are you okay?"

Remus was silent for a long time. He glanced around the room, noticing that Logan had come with Janus, but didn't seem to know what to do now that he was here. Janus still stared at Remus expectantly. Finally, Remus whispered, "No."

Janus pulled him into a hug again, this time refusing to let go. Remus awkwardly hugged back at first, before sinking into his, resting his head on Janus' shoulder. He breathed in and out, trying to ignore how shaky his breath was. He was... okay. Janus was still here, Janus didn't hate him, did he?

Eventually, Janus had to pull away, but still kept his hands on Remus' shoulders. "How about we go blow some stuff up?" Janus suggested. "Remember last year when we set all those building on fire-"

Remus snorted. "Yeah. That was fun."

Janus smiled at him. "We could go do that again to celebrate, if you want."

Remus breathed out, and smiled. "That'd be nice."

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Mamma Mia AU  2 It’s a Rich Man’s World

Mamma Mia AU (With the boys)

Words: 1507

Summary: Your two best friends arrive on the island just in time for everything to fall apart. 

Notes: Hello lovely humans, I don’t know if the link that I sent you guys works, so if you have comments, I guess just message me? Yes I know the band name is cheesy, please help me. (Also, I’m posting this at 11:12 P.M. my time so it is technically still Monday)

New to the series? Here’s the trailer made by @childhood-imagination: Mamma Mia AU Trailer

-

While Lili and Kat were the first ones off the ferry, your friends took a little longer to get through the group of passengers. It didn’t help that Priyanka had her gargantuan suitcase trailing behind her. You could pick that red sun hat out of any crowd. 

“For one night!” You shouted once most of the other people had filtered away. “And one night only!” 

“Farrah…”

“And the…”

“Fates!” You ran across the dock, colliding in a big group hug. You must have sounded like a group of middle school girls the way you were giggling and squaking. You hadn’t been called your stage name in years, but hearing them say it took you back to when you were all young and carefree and you didn’t have a business to keep a float. 

“I’ve missed you guys.” You sighed, pulling back to look at your two best friends in the whole world. Priyanka smiled. 

“You should come and visit us sometime! Once Daisy and KJ have flown away from the nest.” 

“Are you kidding?” You laughed, shaking your head. “Who would run this place? It’s falling apart as it is.” You helped them put their luggage into the trunk of the jeep and you all climbed in. 

“Then we’ll just have to come here more often.” Scarlett suggested. “When her majesty is in between press tours and photo shoots… and husbands.” She poked at Priyanka mockingly who swatted her hands away. Priyanka had become a pretty popular model throughout Europe, but she’d cut away this time to come to the wedding. She had also been married a few times- three, to be exact. But she was happily single at the moment and always ready to party. 

Scarlett, on the other hand, wrote books in her lovely cottage up in Ireland. She wrote some of the sappiest self-love books you’d ever seen, but she was always the best shoulder to cry on. And boy, had you cried on it many times. 

-

Twenty One Years Ago

“We’re going to be late!” Scarlett shouted from outside the bathroom door. It was your first gig as a group and you’d been throwing up all afternoon from the nerves. 

“I can’t do it!” You cried, sitting on the cool, tiled floor. “I’m gonna screw it up and then we’ll all look like idiots!” 

“Sweetie, you’re not going to screw it up.” She assured you, though Priyanka’s face was starting to look skeptical. Scarlett pinched her arm. 

“You’ll do great.” She yelped, swatting Scarlet’s hand away. “Now come out here so I can fix your make-up, or I swear, Y/N, I will break down the door.” You thought for a moment, realized that she actually would, and scrambled to your feet to unlock the door. 

“You look fine.” Scarlett smiled and Priyanka placed a hand on your shoulder. 

“I’ll just do a couple touch-ups.” 

The makeshift stage wobbled under your feet as you walked on. The festival was swarming with people, but not many had stopped to listen. They all just passed by, ignoring the three of you completely. While your crowd only consisted of an older woman selling flowers and a man in a worn band t-shirt and jeans, you would make the best of it. You blew out a nervous breath and just let the music take over.

“Tonight the super trooper lights are gonna find me. But I won’t feel blue. Like I always do. Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you.” You sang out your opening solo, your voice a little unsure at first, but as soon as Scarlett hit the button to play the tape and the music you’d written started to play, you’d never felt more confident. With your best friends by your side, you could stay on the stage forever. 

More of a crowd had formed and people were starting to cheer, fueling your energy. It felt like everything was blurred into one, the crowd, the music, Priyanka and Scarlet. By the time you reached the end, you were practically glowing. 

“Tonight the super trooper lights are gonna find me. But I won’t feel blue. Like I always do. Cause somewhere in the crowd….” You did your final dancing spin, but your foot caught on one of the creaky, loose boards and you tumbled off the edge of the stage, the crowd collectively gasping. Instead of the ground, however, you landed in the strong arms of the t-shirt clad man with beautiful brown eyes and a gorgeous smile. “There’s you.” 

The crowd cheered and the man gently set you on your feet, his grin sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You okay?” He asked and you nodded, unable to form actual words. “You must be Farrah?” He pointed to the poorly made banner that hung over the stage. You just stared at him, lost in those perfect, perfect eyes. 

“Ahem.” Priyanka coughed, drawing you out of your trance. You felt the blush rush to your cheeks. He just kept smiling at you, a quiet laugh escaping his lips. 

“Farrah is my stage name.” You admitted. “My real name is Y/N.” 

“Well, Y/N, I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun at a concert before.” He beamed and you could feel the butterflies in your stomach go wild. “You guys are really really good.” He looked up at Priyanka and Scarlett who looked as wide eyed over his good looks as you were. 

“T-thanks.” Scarlett stammered. Priyanka rolled her eyes at you and Scarlett’s awkward natures. 

“We were going to grab a drink in between sets…” She gave you a suggestive look, darting her eyes between you and him. It took you a second to catch on. 

“Oh!” You exclaimed, more blush turning your face red. “Would you like to join us?” He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked forward on his heels. 

“I’d love to.” 

“Oh my god, how rude of me,” You turned to introduce your bandmates, “This is Priyanka,” She flashed him one of her show-stopping smiles, “and this is Scarlett,” She gave him a small wave. He nodded politely and his eyes fell back to you. 

“I’m Pedro.” 

- 

Present Day

The trek up the stairs was painful and had the two women huffing and puffing by the time you reached the top. You, of course, were used to the hike and couldn’t help but snicker. 

“Why did I wear stilettos?” Priyanka exclaimed dramatically. They set down their suitcases with a thunk. 

“Here, let me get those.” KJ offered with his usual charming smile. 

“Guys, meet KJ, he’s the leading man for Friday’s shindig.” You introduced and he chuckled. 

“The lucky man.” He beamed. “You must be… Priyanka.” She nodded and he pulled her into a hug. 

“Wow.” She mouthed over his shoulder. He turns to Scarlett.

“And you must be Scarlett.” 

“I am.” She nodded with her usual welcoming grin and hugged him tightly. He helped you take their things to their room before scampering off to gather supplies for a date he was planning with Daisy. 

“Just one more night together before things start to get a little crazy for the wedding.” He explained. He was right. Today was probably the last day before set-up would be in full swing. Daisy wanted a big wedding and oh boy, that’s what she was getting. As soon as KJ left, Scarlett fell back onto her bed. 

“I want to stay here forever and never get up.” She groaned, rubbing her aching feet. “Why do you have to live on a freaking mountain?” 

“I’m lucky I didn’t break a heel.” Priyanka added in agreement. 

“Well the two of you better get used to the not so luxurious life here for the next few days.” You snorted. “The walls in here need a new coat of paint, the floors creak, and the toilet doesn’t always flush correctly.” You laughed, shaking your head. “Nothing works around here, except for me.” 

You flopped down on the bed next to Scarlett and Priyanka joined on the other side of you. You grabbed onto their hands and felt powerful again. 

“It’s all money, money, money out there.” You sighed. “And without snatching a wealthy husband, I’m stuck doing the laundry and the dishes and everything else around here.” You chuckled to yourself, mentally scolding yourself for sounding so whiny. 

“Speaking of husbands…” Priyanka wriggled her eyebrows. 

“Here we go,” Scarlett laughed, “Husband number four!” 

“Not for me, for you!” Priyanka exclaimed, poking Scarlett in the side. “There’s got to be some Greecian god around here somewhere.” 

“No.” She waved her hand for emphasis. “No thank you. I’m fine all on my own, thanks.” 

“What great examples for Sohpie you two are; The Serial Bride and the Little Hermit.” You threw your head back with a laugh. While the three of you reminisce over your ‘glory days’, your daughter had her hands full down on the beach, staring at the three men bickering on the dock; one of whom was her father.

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination

Mamma Mia Series list: @materialisthicc; @holybatflapexpert; @mandoandyodito;  @justawriterinprogress; @fangirl-multifandoms; @thelupusonyx; @arrowswithwifi; @mylovegoesto; @ahopelessromanticwritersworld; @kata1803 Pedro Tag List: @halefirewarrior;  @c-ly-g

[elenatria]

Valoris kissed like real Soviet men.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824418/chapters/51008689

“Is he really that special?” Valery wondered straightening an exceedingly long tie that was threatening to choke him since he entered the Kremlin conference room that morning.

He winced at the feel of it; it was one of the ties Boris had bought for him ordering over the phone suits to match his eyes and shirts that complemented his pallid complexion. Sweet, generous Boris who was now too busy, too giddy, too engrossed in his conversation with “Kolya” to even notice Valery’s absence - let alone one insignificant crooked tie.

Valery couldn’t help but seethe at the memory; as soon as they entered the Kremlin Palace of Congresses Boris was greeted by his boss with a “fraternal kiss”. His breath hitched when Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov squeezed Boris’ arm to draw him closer and claim his mouth. Valery thought that was a ritual long forgotten, as obsolete as Brezhnef himself, but apparently the prime minister didn’t mind reminding everyone in that room that he and Boris were close. Valery would have ignored the gesture had the embrace not ended in a swift yet intimate kiss, sealed by Ryzhkov’s tongue flicking out just enough to get a taste of the tall Ukrainian’s lips.

And to think Boris was barking out his name smashing the telephone a few weeks ago.

With more contempt than curiosity Valery inspected “Kolya”: for a politician he was annoyingly perfect, from his cap-toe Italian shoes to his starched collar, dark brown hair brushed back, slick with brillantine and framed by temples with hard-to-miss touches of silver that did nothing to diminish Valery’s uneasiness. Not to mention that strong chin of his.

He breathed out the tightening of his chest; he knew he had to distract himself otherwise he was in for a long and uninteresting evening. His eyes passed over a crowd he hardly recognized with the exception of Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov, head of the Kurchatov Institute and president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. His mentor.

Alexandrov waved at him. Valery felt compelled to respond with a nod even if his feet remained planted on the floor; he was in no mood to catch up with friends and colleagues. He was even beginning to question his reasoning behind attending that reception after the tiresome Politburo meeting, wondering what he was doing among those bureaucrats - party officials whose names were as elusive and indifferent to him as their high status and fake smiles. He had no intention of wasting brain cells on them even if Boris had tried to teach him everything he needed to know a few hours back in his Chaika - among other things.

Valery clicked his tongue searching in vain for peace and calm in a sip of Abrau-Durso; if a hard and fast release was Boris’ idea of emptying his mind and helping him memorize names, it was an utter failure. He had enjoyed the lesson and would gladly repeat it, the outcome not so much. Besides, a hasty orgasm in the back seat of a luxurious car could never compensate for the horrifying sensation that he was becoming invisible in a room full of strangers.

“You’re not telling me you don’t remember who Volodymyr Vasylyovych Shcherbitsky is…” Boris had grumbled under his breath when they were entering the Kremlin conference room a few hours ago. “I just told you.”

“Who is--”

“He’s the leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Valery,” Boris hissed striding into the room, eyes widening with exasperation and panic. “For the love of God, do not embarrass me.”

Shcherbitsky, all right, Valery had made a mental note mumbling that tongue twister of a name again and again until Boris whispered a second name to him, pointing discreetly at another official across the room.

By the time they sat at the conference table and Gorbachev’s aide served them steaming cups of coffee, Valery had forgotten everything.

Still, he was getting better at it. Clutching his glass of wine, he spotted a face in the crowd whose name was much easier to remember: Mikhail Shchadov, the remarkably young Minister of Coal with the distinctive honey brown locks and the reserved smile with whom he had exchanged a few words that went beyond courtesy. Shchadov seemed pleasant enough even if a bit awkward among all those older men, with more than a few good stories to share from his first meeting with the mining crew chief, the feisty Andrei Glukhov whose name (and rotund anatomy) Valery knew all too well.

The scientist had wondered what happened to Glukhov and his men after they dug that tunnel underneath the reactor. First he called the Pripyat hospital, then he contacted hospital number six in Moscow, and when he found no trace of the stocky crew chief he turned to his last resort: Boris.

Instead of an answer, the statesman had shaken his head, his message as clear as his steely blue gaze: state secret, Valery. The Press would be after the miners if they were so easy to find, demanding answers from the victims themselves. Who needed files, statistics or an exact number of casualties in the face of nuclear catastrophe? Certainly not the State, not Paradise. Paradise was perfect.

Valery felt like throwing up and the glass in his hand wasn’t helping. He was sick of their secrets, sick of their pointless Politburo meetings and belated measures and accusations, sick of that obnoxious politician who was monopolizing Boris’ attention as he flashed perfect teeth and confident little giggles at the one man in the room Valery had feelings for. Uncaring of his insecurities, Boris and “Kolya” leaned toward each other, whispering like old buddies with too many shared memories to count, their foreheads almost touching as the prime minister’s inaudible joke made Boris’ shoulders shake richly.

“Nothing special about him,” Valery repeated to himself, a mantra that was failing to put his mind at ease as he swallowed a bitter mouthful of red wine. “He’s shorter than Boris. And that smile - too obvious. Generic.”

He realized he had been staring like a gawking schoolgirl when “Kolya” peeked back at him over Boris’ shoulder, a smug smile and a little nod acknowledging his presence. Boris turned to look for whatever had caught Premier Ryzhkov’s attention.

Fucking hell.

Valery toyed with his wine shifting from one foot to the other as the two men (the two friends) approached with large steps, champagne spilling from their tall glasses. Boris’ cheeks were sleek and flushed (just how much had he drunk already?) and his usually charming smile had turned into what looked more like a drunken grimace. Valery was surprised he had fallen in love with the man in the first place.

“Valery!” Boris yawped opening his arms. “Let me introduce you to--”

“Premier Ryzhkov,” the scientist cut him off turning to the other man. “Pleased to meet you,” he said briskly, eyes fluttering behind thick lenses to avoid the piercing gaze of Boris’ boss.

Nikolai Ryzhkov’s lip curled cheekily. “You can call me Kolya,” he said, his voice dripping honey as he stretched out a perfectly manicured hand.

Valery pushed his glasses back on his nose. His handshake was curt, obligatory.

“I hope you didn’t mind my suggestions at the meeting,” Ryzhkov said with a sheepish grin. “And I hope I wasn’t too harsh on you and professor Alexandrov. Us politicians sometimes need to pretend we know everything when we actually know nothing.”

“You were stating what was already in those reports,” Valery said icily. “We were responsible for designing and creating RBMK reactors while we were against buying technologies and equipment abroad. It would be fair to say we were too proud to ask for help.”

“…Or too arrogant to not have a monopoly on nuclear energy.”  Ryzhkov’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Safe and sturdy like samovars,” he added, not without a hint of reprimand, “safe enough to be installed on Red Square.”

A deep wrinkle broke between Valery’s brows: Ryzhkov was quoting Alexandrov.

He straightened his back swallowing the poignant words, his scientific pride irrevocably hurt. “Considering the strain on the country’s fuel balance and the growing role of atomic energy,” he recited as if standing in an auditorium, “delays in launching new reactor units are inadmissible in the future.”

“Oh,” Ryzhkov chuckled, eyes cold and unsmiling despite the seductive baring of his teeth, “you’re quoting me, how amusing. I must say I’m flattered.”

“I read the report you gave the congress a few months before the accident,” Valery said with little concern for his accusatory tone. “Viktor Bryukhanov was forced to complete the reactor in five years whereas the construction cycle of a nuclear power plant is seven years. He wasn’t even a nuclear engineer. He was a turbine specialist.”

Boris’ eyes darted from one man to the other.

“He could have said no,” Ryzhkov shrugged taking a sip from his champagne, his gaze following a blonde curvaceous waitress passing with a canapé tray. “But I guess he was too eager to get his gold star of a Hero of Socialist  Labour.”

“No,” Valery insisted as he saw from the corner of his eye Boris clenching his fists nervously. He couldn’t resist taking a little revenge on the man he loved, the man who had been ignoring him all evening for the sake of politics and old acquaintances. “If he hadn’t fallen in line, he would have earned a reprimand at best,” he said crisply. “The next step would be losing his Party card. His job.”

Ryzhkov��s lip suppressed an angry twitch, his stare icy, almost dead. “Occupational hazards, professor Legasov,” he replied. “This is why some of us become politicians and others choose to be power plant managers instead.”

Boris interrupted them with a little cough in his fist, a gesture he had undoubtedly copied from the General Secretary himself. “Maybe we should leave all that for the next meeting we have with the Central Committee, what do you say?” he suggested forcing a polished smile as he patted the two men on their backs. “This is no time for pointing fingers.”

Valery shuddered at the condescending touch and cursed himself for not daring to pull away. Appearances had to be kept, he thought bitterly, they were still in the Kremlin Palace after all, with so many eyes on them. Why a nation obsessed with equality, the death of aristocracy and the praise of the proletariat would call this place a “palace” was beyond him. It was all a lie, he realized, just like the politeness of the man measuring him with his haughty gaze, that stranger who seemed to be enjoying Boris straightening the jacket on his shoulder a little too much.

Indeed, Ryzhkov’s face was beginning to soften thanks to Boris’ soothing touch. “You’re right,” he sighed, “we should be enjoying our champagne, not fighting. It’s enough that I had Misha shouting in my face this whole week,” he mumbled in his glass, his eyes shifting around the room lest someone should hear him.

Oh poor you, Valery almost blurted out, his lip threatening to twist in disdain until he noticed Boris’ forbidding stare.

The gray-haired politician swiftly turned to his old friend putting on a mask of friendliness. “Does he still call you in the middle of the night?” he teased.

“Gorbachev? Oh no, you’re the only one who enjoys that luxury,” Ryzhkov answered promptly, causing Valery to sink his teeth in his lip so deep that he tasted copper. “There aren’t many people who can keep me up at night waiting for the phone to ring,” he boasted, his fingers fanning out over Boris’ arm. “You kept me on my toes during your first days in Chernobyl, Borya, and not only because I needed constant updates on the situation,” he added brushing off lint from the back of Boris’ shoulder with long calculated strokes.

Valery, with an astonished brow rising so high it almost disappeared into his hairline, suddenly felt the urge to chew someone’s head off.

“I was very worried when you were refusing to go to Kiev for treatment,” Ryzhkov explained, his concerned tone similar to that of a caring mother.

Or a lover.

“Well,” Boris said moving closer to Valery to cup the nape of his neck, “since professor Legasov wasn’t going, I wasn’t going either. We didn’t trust anyone else to do the job during our absence and I wouldn’t dream of leaving him alone in that inferno.”

Valery’s breathing stilled.

Don’t you fucking touch me.

Ryzhkov’s keen eyes glinted at Boris’ intimacy and Valery’s sudden immobility. He hummed studying them both, an amused smile broadening on his lips.

“I do believe that only men who know how to take care of each other can truly take care of millions,” he stated with a look that revealed envy and admiration in equal measure. “People will never forget the work you’re doing there.” He gave a pretentiously humble shrug. “Hopefully my trivial contributions from afar and the endless midnight phone calls we exchanged will get a tiny side note in history books,” he said patting Boris on the back.

Valery raised his chin, ready to spit out venom. “Oh, I’m certain everyone will remember the man who sent us a lunar rover that could withstand up to 2,000 roentgen,” he flared, his voice quivering with suppressed indignation, “when the gamma radiation on the roof was reaching 12,000 roentgen. Truly an informed decision.”

Ryzhkov turned to him, all warmth gone from his gaze. “No,” he shot back, the corner of his lip twitching into a wicked smirk, “I’m the man who sent Boris Evdokimovich Shcherbina to clean up your mess when I could have kept him to myself.” He jiggled his empty glass. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I will have my next drink with people who are not responsible for blowing up reactors.”

He straightened his tie and headed for the buffet.

Boris watched him walk away, his mouth gaping helplessly, before turning to glower at Valery, every trace of drunkenness gone from his face.

“What the hell was that?”

Valery pressed his lips together, his chest heaving as he struggled to control his breathing; he wasn’t going to let him win this time.

“Whatever you want to tell me,” he rumbled, “you can tell me when you’re back in Chernobyl. I’m leaving.”

“Valery, what--”

“HE KISSED YOU.”

Boris froze, his eyes bulging as if had been slapped in the face. The next moment he was howling with laughter.

“That? Kolya is a Brezhnef enthusiast, pay no attention, he’s old-fashioned like that.”

Valery’s jaw slacked open. “… He swept his fucking tongue over your lips,” he hissed, his gaze shooting flaming daggers.

Boris drowned the last huffs of laughter into his fist. “Did he?” he said. “I didn’t notice.”

Valery wondered if the beads of sweat running down Boris’ temples was the alcohol in his veins or his guilty secret finally coming to the light.

“Maybe you should ask him,” he snarled, “his memory seems to be better than yours. How come you never mentioned those midnight phone calls?”

“Valery, I’ve known the man for years,” Boris said rubbing his forehead as if to avert a splitting headache. “We worked together when I was presiding over the development of oil and gas industries in Siberia. You cannot be serious.”

“Oh I’m very serious,” Valery replied.

Boris stood beside him with eyes fixed on Ryzhkov who seemed much more relaxed now that he was chatting with the ministers of Coal and Medium Machine Building.

“You’re irresistible when you’re jealous, you know that?” he rasped in Valery’s ear running a hand down his back, his thick fingers resting dangerously close to his hips. “And you haven’t even touched me yet...”

“No,” Valery murmured feeling Boris’ hot breath against his skin, his voice shaking as his body wavered between rage and need. “No. I’m done here. Have fun with your ‘Kolya’, I’m going back.”

He pulled out of Boris’ grasp and fixed his tie as people started getting curious about the deputy minister and the academician who were standing a bit too close to each other.

He couldn’t wait to go back to the hotel and get rid of that horrible noose around his neck.

He couldn’t wait to fly back to the most dangerous place on earth, work himself to death and forget it all.

“You’re being a child,” Boris insisted, frustrated.

“I’m not the one who wants everything for himself,” Valery quipped fumbling with his pockets to find the keys - until he remembered that he had been brought there in Boris’ car, not his.

Boris’ mouth hung open, his tongue too numb from the drink and the shock to form a decent reply.

Valery balanced on his heels; he couldn’t help finding a tinge of satisfaction in Boris’ helplessness even if the desperate look in his eyes was killing him inside. He threw him one last glance before leaving, hoping Boris could see through his act and stop him, give up on everyone just to make him change his mind.

But apparently that task was meant for someone else.

“We’re headed for the Ukraina Hotel for a little snack with Misha and the others, will you join us?” Ryzhkov’s casual tone was heard over the chattering guests.

Him again.

They turned like clockwork and spoke simultaneously.

“No!” Valery snapped.

“YES!” Boris barked drowning his voice as he grabbed his wrist behind his back and squeezed. Hard.

The dimples on the prime minister’s cheeks deepened in a boyish smile. “Good,” he said, his face beaming with relief. “Good!... We’ll see you guys there.”

The two friends followed him around with their eyes. As soon as he exited the room, Boris threw Valery a guilty look.

“You don’t say no to the prime minister, Valery,” he muttered with an apologetic shrug.

The scientist responded with a harsh smile. “I guess that sums up your whole relationship, doesn’t it?”

[taejinpurple-blog]

ARTISTIC BEAUTY OF LOVE- CHAPTER 2

Fluffy Romantic Story about two guys who became friends and blossomed into something more.

*Mature Scenes later on.*

Trigger Warning: Speaks about sexual abuse in later chapters.

I did my best with editing. Sorry in advance if there are any mistakes. But I really tried to make sure there were not many. Please enjoy

Previous Chapter: https://hopeless-taejinstan.tumblr.com/post/172321771135/artistic-beauty-of-love-chapter-1

Jin stared at his notes, the beginning of the semester was always the slowest part of school. He looked towards the other side of the classroom where Miyeon was taking her notes. She was the only girl who didn’t chase after him or act silly when he looked at her. He still remembered the first time he ever laid eyes on her.

~~~~~

Jin yawned lying on a bench taking a quick nap. He still had another hour before his next class.

“Leave me alone!” He heard a girl shouted.

“Why baby? You don’t wanna go to the movies with us? He heard a guy ask.

“The more the merrier, right?” He then heard another guy and sat up. He saw three guys pinning a girl to a tree. He stood up walking over to them.

“Didn’t she say to leave her alone?” He asked making them look at him. The three guys instantly surrounded him.

“Aren’t you bold there, pretty boy? I would keep quiet if I was you since you’re outnumbered.”

Jin punched him in the stomach, the other guys were shocked by his sudden attack and saw their friend was out cold. Jin did a roundhouse kick in the air before looking at them.

“I’m a black belt, wanna try your luck?”

The two guys picked up their friend and ran off. He looked at Miyeon who was wiping her tears away. He paused when her soft doe-like brown eyes looked up at him. His breath caught in his throat at her beauty. Her straight jet-black hair flowed down to the middle of her back and her bangs stopped at her eyebrows. He noticed she was thin but had some curves.

“Thank you so much for helping me.” She smiled walking towards him. His cheeks became hot.

“Y-Yeah …bye.” He gathered his stuff and ran to the nearest building.

~~~~*~~~~

He moaned to himself. “Kinda after that, I’ve never been able to talk to her no matter how much I tried.” He thought to himself.

She glanced at him and he instantly looked away. She forced a small smile and looked at the professor.

~~~~*~~~~

Tae hummed to himself walking down the hallway. He couldn’t wait for his last class to end. He was going to be able to challenge himself in drawing. He walked into his art class and spotted the boy with light brown hair that he shared a table with.

“Hey, Jungkook.” He ran over to the table as Jungkook smiled at him.

“Morning Tae.” Tae sat down next to him. “Have you thought about what to draw for class?” He asked. Tae placed his head on the desk sighing.

“It’s between a tree and a fruit bowl right now?” He asked and Jungkook nodded.

“There you are Tae.” Yoongi walked into the classroom.

“Yoongi Hyung, what brings you here?”

“Your grandfather said you left your money on the kitchen table.” He handed Taehyung his money.

“Oh, I really did! Thank you so much, Hyung!”

Yoongi yawned. "Not a problem."

“Ah Hyung, this is my friend Jungkook. He’s the first person I became friends with here. Jungkook this is Yoongi Hyung, he’s renting a room at my grandfather’s house.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jungkook shook his hand.

“You too.” He gave a soft smile and walked out the class ignoring the girls that were staring at him.

“Wow, you live with him?”

“Yeah and five others.”

“He’s really hot.” Jungkook smiled and Taehyung tilted his head.

“Are you into men?”

“I am.”

“Wow, you're so straightforward about it. You never felt any confusion about it or anything?”

Jungkook shook his head. “ Not really, I knew from a young age and my mom accepted it with open arms so I’m comfortable in my sexuality. How about you?”

Tae folded his arms. “I am too though I tend to my thoughts and feelings to myself."

"Your family doesn't except you?"

"My mom does and that's really all that matters. But my other family still kinda stick their noses up at me." He shrugged.

"If they can't accept you, then fuck them. That's my motto this year."

They both laughed.

~~~~*~~~~

Jin and Tae entered the house after classes. Once Tae walked through the door he turned to Jin.

“Okay, time for a naked picture!”

Jin covered his mouth looking around.

“Babo, don’t say that out loud! You don’t know who's here and worse what if Grandpa hears and gets the wrong idea.” He scolded the freshman. “I’ll meet you in your room. I gotta prepare myself mentally for this.” He sighed, and Tae nodded skipping off. “Why did I agree to this again?” He groaned walking into the bathroom.

He knocked on Tae’s door after leaving the bathroom.

“Come in,” he said. Jin took a deep breath and walked inside. He saw Tae’s back facing him. He looked around and his mouth flew open. His walls were covered by anime posters, idol groups, and random drawings.

“What is all this?”

“All the anime and music I like.” He said. “When I like something, I like to hang it on my wall, so I don’t forget that I liked it.” He began rambling about the different types of music and anime he liked. Tae then looked at Jin who’s eyes widened.

“Y-Y-Your glasses?”

Tae rubbed the back of his neck. “When I seriously draw something I usually put contacts in because my glasses sometimes hinder my view.” He ran his hand through his hair and used a headband to hold his hair back.

Jin stared at him in amazement. Now that he was able to see his full face, he was very handsome. His features were almost unrealistic, big beautiful bright brown eyes, nicely shaped plumped lips. His eyes traveled down to his body where he noticed a white t-shirt and ripped denim jeans.

He closed his eyes shaking his head. What the hell was he looking at? And handsome or not this guy was weird.

Tae tilted his head.

“Jin Hyung, are you alright?”

“Let’s get this over with.” He mumbled, and Tae nodded and set up a chair for himself.

“You can sit on my bed.”

Jin removed his shirt, Tae looked at him before looking away. Next, Jin removed his pants and neatly folded them on the bed. He took a deep breath to remove his boxer briefs until Tae sprang up.

“What are you doing?!”

Jin saw Tae’s face was beet red making his own cheeks heat up.

“I’m getting naked like you wanted to draw!”

“But when you take your boxers off …you’ll be barring everything.”

“Yeah!”

“Okay.” Tae took a deep breath.

Jin turned his back to him. “Don’t get embarrassed after asking me to do this.” He muttered. He placed his hands on the rim of his underwear and began to pull them down.

“W-W-Wait!” Tae grabbed his wrist making Jin look at him.

“What now?”

“You can keep your boxers on and just throw that sheet over your lap instead.” He said making Jin’s face drop. “My innocent eyes shouldn’t see such a thing.”

“Your innocent eyes are gonna get fist soon,” Jin said making Tae chuckle. “How long?”

“About an hour.” He said sitting down across from Jin. “Just place your hands on your lap.”

Jin watched as Tae’s eyes darted from him to the sketchpad. Jin looked up at one of the posters in boredom. He noticed five guys posing with big smiles.

“Who are they?” He finally asked. Taehyung looked at him before turning to see what he was looking at. He then smiled and went back to drawing.

“That’s BigBang, they’re really awesome.”

“Ah, I heard of them.”

“They’re good right?”

“Yeah.”

“You can talk as long as you stay still. I know an hour or so will be boring just sitting there. I really appreciate this, so thank you.”

“I guess your welcome …you did force me kinda,” Jin said making Tae giggle. “How long have you been drawing?”

“Since I was about four or so. I’ve always loved drawing.”

“What brought you here?”

“I heard this college had a great art program.”

“My questions aren’t distracting you, are they?”

“No, I have a younger brother that’s eight years younger than me, so I mastered the art of multitasking.”

“Your dad is Grandpa’s son, but he said he hadn’t seen you in five years. Are your parents divorced or something?”

“My father died five years ago.”

Jin instantly winced. “Ah, s-s-sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up something tender.”

“It’s alright, I like to speak about my father.”

“So it’s just you, your mom and your little brother.

“And my stepdad, my mom remarried two years ago.”

He nodded. “How is your stepdad? Is he one of those stepparents from hell?” Jin tilted his head when he saw Taehyung visibly flinch but he remained silent waiting for him to say something.

Tae licked his lips and moved his face closer to the sketchpad.

“H-H-He’s cool.” He managed to get out. That was an odd response but then again Jin noted Tae was odd himself. “Enough about me, what about you?”

Jin groaned a bit, he hated talking about himself.

“What do you wanna know?”

“I don’t know, tell me a little about your background, your hobbies and why you live here.”

“I have a mom, dad an older brother. He’s ten years older than me and he’s currently married with two kids a boy and girl.”

“Aw, how old?” Taehyung smiled.

“My nephew is five and my niece is three.” He then sighed. “No one but Kennie and Grandpa knows this but I feel like I can trust you.” Tae looked at him for a moment before going back to his drawing. “My family is wealthy, I came here for that reason. I wanted to make a living on my own and not constantly live under the shadow of my brother and father and I don’t have any hobbies.” He shrugged.

Tae stopped drawing and stared at him.

“You don’t have anything you like to do?”

“Not really.”

Tae placed the sketchpad on his lap. “That’s bad! Hyung, you must have something that you enjoy doing in your spare time, at least one thing!”

Jin rubbed his head trying to think. “Well I used to play the acoustic guitar but I stopped my senior year of high school because I felt it was pointless.”

Tae gasped as his eyes grew wide. “You can play the guitar? You should still play it! I wish I could play music but my talent is drawing so I can’t complain but being able to play an instrument is a blessing and you shouldn’t take it for granted.”

Jin rubbed his head from getting lectured. “But I have no time anymore between full-time college and full-time work.”

“There’s always time to do something that makes you feel at ease. If you don’t make time for yourself you’ll be old, gray and bitter before you know it wondering why nothing ever makes you happy. It’s important to take time for yourself.” Tae pointed his pencil at Jin. “Hyung, take better care of your mental health.”

Jin laughed, this guy never failed to amaze him.

“I would love to hear your play one day.” He said smiling.

Jin stared at him. No had ever said those words to him before and he almost didn't know what to make of it.

One amazed him about Tae. Not only did he have a hidden beauty on the outside but on the inside of him was something beyond words. He found it funny that Tae was so quick to say someone like him was beautiful but he felt the real beautiful person was him.

Next Chapter: https://hopeless-taejinstan.tumblr.com/post/172349423050/artistic-beauty-of-love-chapter-3

[texanredrose]

Blood Bond (HfH P1:3)

Ruby sighed, flipping through the pages of the journal, though she couldn’t claim to be absorbing even one word of it. The motel room ceiling fan turned slowly, creaking every now and again, providing the only other noise in the room. Finally, it appeared Weiss had enough.

“I’m going outside,” she said, sitting up and getting off the bed, heading for the door. “This is getting ridiculous.”

“It’s only been two days.” Knowing better than to let the angel wander off on her own, Ruby got up and followed, closing the door as they went out into the parking lot. “Sometimes, it’s like this.”

“Sitting around, waiting?” Weiss threw her arms wide. “What are we even waiting for? We’ve searched every newspaper and there’s no mysterious deaths or sudden changes in behavior or luck, nothing to indicate something supernatural going on at all.”

“Dad sent us here.”

She opened her mouth and then immediately clicked it closed, not wanting to touch the subject of the sisters’ absent father. Yang had already gone through the whole process of chewing the angel out after one thoughtless comment and trying to keep the two from yelling at each other had nearly ran Ruby ragged in the few short days they’d been travelling together. At this point, she’d lost count of who started the little spats between the two, but she ended up being the one putting a stop to them more often than not.

“I was under the impression that we came out here for some sort of message. Not for a job to hopefully show up,” Weiss eventually said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I just hate the waiting.”

“Yang, too.”

“Yes, but she has a car.” With a sigh, Ruby turned to head back into the motel room until something caught her eye, leaning up against a tree at the edge of the parking lot. Brows furrowed, she started towards it, tilting her head. It appeared to be a bow of some sort- the weapon kind, hewn from wood with decorative markings along the curve. “Where are you going?”

“Look at this.” She knelt down, looking around and finding the motel just as empty as when they’d pulled up two days ago. Besides that, the thing looked old, as if it’d been left out in the weather for far too long. Moss had even started growing on part of it, and she brushed it off with ease before picking it up. “This thing must be ancient.”

“I’ve seen those markings before.” The angel’s brows pulled together as she accepted it when Ruby handed it to her. “It’s... been centuries, but I’m quite certain these are from a tribe that used to occupy this area.”

“You mean from before Vale was unified as a kingdom? Really?” She accepted the bow back, examining the string- which remained remarkably intact despite the age, having yellowed long ago. “What’s it doing out here?”

The roar of Yang’s engine as she pulled into the parking lot registered dimly but only truly earned her attention when the squeal of brakes being slammed on made her head snap up, in time to catch her sister practically jumping out of the driver’s seat.

“What are you two doing!” Her hands reached up, burying in blonde locks as a mix of frustration and panic came over her expression.

“We found a bow-”

“Cursed objects one-oh-one, Rubes! If it looks ancient and out of place, it’s probably cursed!” She jabbed a finger at the thing in her hands. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it!”

“I-” She glanced down at the bow. “I knew that. But it’s not cursed! Right, Weiss?”

“Of course it’s not cursed.” The angel set her hands on her hips and scowled. “If there was anything malicious about the thing, I would’ve felt it.”

“Oh, yeah, like you can fly, right?”

“Must you throw that in my face every time? I’m getting stronger!”

“Yang!” Ruby held it up, pointing at it to emphasize her point. “It’s just a bow, probably one of those novelty knock offs from that ‘authentic’ shop up the street and left out in the rain. There’s nothing cursed about it.” She waved it around. “See? Nothing’s happening.”

“Okay, first off, not every curse is instant. Secondly, we’ve got work to do, so stop playing with it anyway!” She jerked a thumb towards Bumblebee. “We might actually have a job.”

“Oh thank the Lord,” Weiss said, heading towards the car immediately. “Another demon?”

“No, probably not.” Yang sighed and drug a hand down her face. “Way more annoying, if the info’s right.”

“More annoying?” Ruby tilted her head while going to join the others, having dropped the bow beneath the tree. “What’s going on?”

“Alright, pop quiz time, for both of you.” They all climbed into the Camero, pulling out of the parking lot. “Local bar got roughed up by a group of leather wearing assholes with attitude problems. None of them are locals and no one knows where they came from. Sound familiar?”

She hummed, mentally pouring over the information she’d studied in the journals while the angel put forth her own guess.

“Sounds like mortals.” She scoffed. “Are we community police now as well?”

Ruby snapped her fingers. “Vampires!”

“Excuse you.”

“Vampires- remember how when we came into town, they mentioned the local cattle auction was canceled?” She turned in her seat to look back at Weiss. “Vampires operate in groups, they’ll usually use cattle to supplement their thirst for blood, especially when they have newly turned vampires in a low population area. It draws less attention. They wear leather to sorta explain away why they smell like cows. Uh, they’re also hyper aggressive, which would explain trashing the bar.”

“Good!” Yang nodded with a smile. “You pass, Sis. That’s what I’m thinkin’. Go ahead and bring up missing persons reports from this area of Vale; sounds like they have to have at least one newbie to account for the cattle kills.”

With a nod, Ruby pulled out her scroll and started doing the requisite research.

“How on Remnant did you father guess that they’d come this way?”

“Probably the auction- large amount of cattle waiting to be shipped off.” The blonde shrugged. “Would definitely be a draw for a batch of vamps looking for easy food.”

“Uh oh.” Silver eyes darted over to her sister, a frown curling her lips.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“I’ve got at least twenty people going missing in a hundred mile radius of this town. Majority are young and fit- and these are only the ones reported. Some are as recent as yesterday; they’re disappearing at almost one a day.”

“That... sounds like an abnormally large number.” Weiss leaned forward from the backseat, peeking over Ruby’s shoulder. “Vampires were nearly wiped out almost two centuries ago by hunters- I remember watching that bloodbath from Heaven. Since then, they’ve only survived by remaining in small numbers, correct?”

“Oh, you’re reading the journals, too? That’s good.” Yang pulled a face, equal parts surprised and impressed. “I mean, yeah, hunters have banded together to hunt vampires at least once every twenty years or so, and the last one hardly turned any up.” She glanced at both of them. “Honestly? If there are twenty new vampires, I’ve never seen or heard of a group that large in almost a hundred years. Dad and I hunted two a few years ago, and they seemed pretty convinced that they were the last of their kind. Kept going on and on about how we were going to make them extinct.”

From the silence that followed, Ruby stopped reading through the various missing persons reports so she could be prepared for the impending argument.

“Alright.” The frustration in the angel’s voice made her take a surreptitious breath. “Humor me. Why are vampires hunted so vigorously by mortals?” Weiss settled back. “Because, frankly, I don’t see much difference between them and any other predator out there, and that’s including mortals.”

Much to her surprise, Yang didn’t immediately shoot back a smartass response, instead humming. “Well, for one thing, they like to snack on humans and Faunus. That wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t insist on draining their food source entirely, so the whole ‘killing people’ thing is a mark against them.” She sighed. “On top of that, they’re immortal, so there’s a direct correlation between how many vampires there are and how much blood they need to survive, and it skews a helluva lot higher for each vampire that’s around.” Then a shrug. “But, really, I think the part that pisses us off most is that they have a complete disdain for what they used to be and usually express that by making mortals’ lives hell even when they aren’t outright killing them. Take for example the bar from last night.” She looked up at the rearview mirror. “So, really, you’re right. They can be just as cruel as people, and people can be crazy as hell to begin with, but vamps don’t learn and they can’t die of stupid near as often as a human or Faunus. Like, uh, take a poacher for example. Yeah, not much difference between them and poachers- could pretty easily not be dicks but choose to be anyway. Problem is, a poacher can get gored by a rhino. Unless you behead a vampire, there’s no stopping them, and most people think you’re supposed to stake the bastards.” 

“And why is that?”

“Oh, I actually have a theory about that!” Ruby turned in her seat, relieved that this time the conversation didn’t immediately devolve into an argument. “I’ve been reading a lot of the vampire lore and public perception of vampires started shifting right around the time the first purge happened. I think that there were enough vampires in higher society positions who managed to hide and used their influence to basically rewrite their own lore, make it easier for them to survive in the coming decades by making the things that could kill them more scarce.” She wiggled the scroll in her hand. “Nowadays, everyone thinks a clove of garlic and a wooden stake is enough to fight a Vampire, and no one thinks ‘behead them’ at all. That’s attributed to zombies.”

“Which, interestingly enough, those are the bastards you have to stake,” Yang said with a chuckle, glancing at the passenger seat. “I’m impressed, Rubes. That theory sounds pretty solid to me.” She paused, seeming to fight with herself for a moment before continuing. “Do we really seem like animals to you angels?”

Crap.

“It’s not an accurate comparison, I’d say,” Weiss replied, her voice a touch pensive. “But I spent so long watching wars and massacres, some of which perpetrated in God’s name. I liked to convince myself it was demons at work but sometimes... not even I could explain the cruelty of mortals.”

“Like I said.” Yang shook her head. “People are crazy.”

Yang pushed through the door of the bar, holding it open long enough for Ruby and Weiss to file in behind her. Immediately, she noticed how every set of eyes in the room snapped to them, tension rising quicker than a river during a flood.

“Sorry,” she said, offering her characteristic smirk. “We’re not the strippers you ordered. Didn’t mean to disappoint.”

“Very funny.” The bartender groused, still far too tense. “What can I get you stranger?”

“Not thirsty, but you might have what I’m looking for anyway.” She pulled out a twenty lien card, sauntering over to the bar and tapping the card against the wood. “Some people just passed through. Rough customers, troublemakers, probably were way too loud- ring any bells?”

He regarded her for a moment, the flash of disgust that washed over his expression far too telling. Then he took the lien from her and nodded. “Yeah. They were here last night.” His lips curled into a sour frown. “Friends of yours?”

“Hardly,” she replied, the jovial lilt of her voice and expression dying instantly. “I own a night club a few towns over. Those bastards trashed my place while I was handling some business elsewhere. Since I’m shut down for repairs, I thought I might... negotiate their payment plan for my reimbursement.”

“Oh yeah? If you can get double for me, I’d appreciate it.” He jerked his head towards the corner of the room, where a few broken tables and chairs were stacked up on a shattered pool table. “They also broke two of my bouncers’ arms when we tried throwing them out. I don’t know who fed those assholes their wheaties but I’d like to give that person a punch in the face.”

“I hear ya.” She shook her head. “Can’t have anything nice nowadays without some jackass coming around to fuck everything up.” Yang scratched at her jaw, glancing behind her and noting that Weiss had disappeared against while Ruby seemed to be only half paying attention, silver eyes discreetly glued off to the side. She didn’t seem tense, though, so that could only be a good sign. “Any idea which way they went?”

“Nah, they didn’t arrive in a car.” The bartender threw his arms out wide. “They just showed up, walked in off the street, and went off into the night once they were done making my life hell.”

Yang’s brows furrowed. While the open field across the street wouldn’t make getting to or from the place difficult, there remained the issue of where the nest had to be for them to not bother with any form of transport. If their net was being cast a hundred miles out, that seemed like much too far for them to have the nest this close.

“How many showed up here? I had, uh, I think it was five-”

“Yeah, five guys and two gals, six of ‘em with bad attitudes.” His brow furrowed, pressing his lips together for a moment. “I’m not sure about the gals- or one of ‘em, anyway. She didn’t look like she wanted anything to do with the others but didn’t have much choice. When you go... collect your dues, try to give her a head start runnin’. I wouldn’t be surprised if those assholes had plucked her off the street; ‘s how Billy got his arm broke, trying to get between ‘em and her.” He reached under the bar and produced a small stack of lien, at least half a grand’s worth. “And she slipped this to Nancy before they left. Not enough, but a sight better than what I coulda had.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. I mean, people make mistakes.” Dissent in the ranks it sounded like; they could probably use that to their advantage. “Oh, uh, one more thing.” She leaned against the bar, cocking her head to the side. “Did they bring in anything with ‘em?”

“Yeah, wine bottles.” He shrugged. “Had to be alcohol; they just got worse the more they drank, the louts.” Putting his hands up, the man shook his head. “Honestly, I only let ‘em bring it in because I thought it would keep ‘em from causing a scene. Hindsight is twenty, twenty, I guess.”

“I hear ya on that.” Another glance behind her confirmed that Weiss had returned which provided enough of a cue. “If I manage to find the bastards, I’ll be sure to... pass along your displeasure with them.”

“Thanks.”

Turning around, Yang lead the way back out of the bar, taking the steps quickly and turning to follow the sidewalk rather than heading straight towards Bumblebee.

“We have a shadow,” Weiss said, more than juiced up enough to essentially be their unseen guardian. “She was watching you particularly closely the entire time.”

“Is she flinching?”

“No.”

“Then probably not a vampire,” Ruby said as they turned the corner, ducking down the narrow alley between the bar and the general store beside it. “But-”

“But, she could be one of the older ones.” Yang frowned, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a silver knife already drenched in dead man’s blood. It wasn’t exactly ‘fresh’ but she figured that would be better rather than worse. “Ruby, keep going around back. Weiss, stay with her, and if you can give me a little cloaking, I’d appreciate it.”

They took the next turn to head behind the bar and she immediately stopped and pressed against the wall. In broad daylight, they had about equal footing, because if their shadow was a vampire, she wouldn’t be at full strength with the sun overhead. All Yang had to do was make sure no one saw them, which Weiss should be able to help with, but that was banking on a little bit much in her opinion. They had converted a whole damn gallon to holy water to ensure the angel had enough juice.

The scuff of boots hurrying toward the corner made her tense and, at the first sight of the person coming around, she sprang into action, grabbing onto a thin wrist and yanking, using her heavier weight to force their shadow against the wall, the knife held against her throat.

“Wait, wait wait wait, please!” Wide amber eyes held far too much fear for any immortal faced with a woman and a knife but Yang didn’t let up, expression pinched into a severe scowl.

“Why are you following us?”

“I’m sorry, please, don’t kill me-”

“Why are you following us?”

“Because I’m looking for them too!” Black feline ears twitched, laying down and to the side, a position that lent credence to the pleading in her voice, and thick raven hair cascaded over her shoulders, covering some of the threadbare parts of a jean jacket that had seen better days. “The group- they kidnapped my friend.”

Yang narrowed her eyes, absently noting that Ruby and Weiss had returned. “Lift your upper lip.”

No startled question followed and that made her suspicions rise because she could see in the Faunus’ eyes that she recognized what Yang was looking for with that request. “Please-”

“Do it.” She tilted the knife a bit closer, quite nearly biting into the Faunus’ neck.

“Okay!” Slowly, she raised a hand. “Okay, I’ll do it.” She reached up, grabbing her upper lip and lifting it, showing off perfectly healthy gums with no holes. “See? Not one o’ ‘em.”

With a nod, Yang pulled back the knife and leaned away, but her forearm firmly against the Faunus’ chest, pinning her in place. The Faunus seemed too genuinely terrified to be a hunter but she seemed to know enough about vampires to understand what she was looking for with that request. Something about the whole situation made her stomach turn. “What’s your name?”

“Blake. Blake Belladonna.”

“Okay, Blake.” She released the pressure entirely and put the knife back inside her jacket. “Go home. Now.”

“I can’t-”

“That really wasn’t a request.”

“Those monsters kidnapped my best friend!” Blake pressed her lips into a thin line, obviously becoming angrier now that she wasn’t scared out of her wits with a knife against her throat. “I’m not just leaving!”

“Monsters?” Ruby chimed in, stepping up and crossing her arms over her chest. “What- what makes you call them that? I mean, they’re awful people, but monsters?”

“‘Awful people’ won’t leave tips and give unsolicited advice that turns out to be wrong.” She lifted an arm, sweeping it wide out to indicate an unspecified direction. “Awful people don’t rip a cow apart with their bare hands and- and-”

“You saw them feed,” Yang said, muttering a curse under her breath and passing a hand over her face. “Shit.”

“Then- then you know.” Blake’s shoulders fell, a bit of fear creeping back into her voice. “You know those monsters are...”

Ruby stepped up, laying a comforting hand on the Faunus’ shoulder. “They’re vampires, Blake.”

“Oh God...” She put a hand to her head, running her fingers through her hair. “Ilia... no...”

Yang felt for her, she did. It had to be awful knowing someone you cared about wasn’t killed but rather turned into an absolute monster. But no amount of sympathy would undo that curse and, now that they had confirmation, they had a lot of work to do to find the nest.

“Look, Blake. I’m sorry about your friend.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But there’s nothing you can do. Just go home.”

“You don’t understand.” Blake shook her head. “I- I don’t have anywhere to go back to; it’s only been Ilia and I since...” She bit her lip and looked away, tears gathering in amber eyes. “I can’t just leave her.”

“There’s nothing more you can do,” Ruby said, looking to her sister for some idea how to comfort the Faunus. 

Honestly, Yang didn’t do this part. Maybe it was her Dad’s policy rubbing off on her but he always warned against getting too much into the personal lives of those affected by the things they hunted. It always proved to be messy and they really couldn’t afford to let pity overcome their senses; the things they hunted were evil, pure and simple. Things didn’t get complicated that way.

Much to her surprise, it was Weiss who stepped forward, though she didn’t initiate contact the way Ruby had. Instead, she spoke softly. “I understand what it’s like, the fear of facing the world alone. But you need to trust us. There’s truly nothing more you can do.”

Amber eyes flitted between the three of them before tears began to fall, head hanging forward as she listlessly nodded. “Okay.”

Shoving her hands in her pockets, the Faunus turned away, heading back towards the parking lot. Yang felt bad for her- really, she did- but Blake would only get herself hurt trying to track down the vampires. It was a wonder she hadn’t been found out already, if she’d been close enough to watch them feed.

“So... this isn’t good, is it?” Ruby sighed, running a hand through her hair. “This does kinda confirm the theory that all the people who’ve been abducted recently are being turned.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Yang watched as the Faunus disappeared past the cars before coming back around the corner; better to talk away from prying eyes before they got to the hard part. “Did you find anything out while we were in there, Weiss?”

“Nothing too useful, unfortunately.” The angel shrugged. “I found a bottle or two, definitely filled with blood and not wine, but given the level of destruction, I doubt anyone will notice before throwing it all out. I didn’t find anything identifiable, though- no helpful map with directions to the nest.”

“Bummer.” Well, they couldn’t have gone too far; given the established timeline, any newly turned vamps wouldn’t be trusted on their own for another month at least, so they likely hadn’t been brought out with the others last night. Small miracle meant they should only be fighting a handful rather than dozens. “Then we start with large abandoned structures in the area and whittle it down from there.” She turned, motioning for them to follow her back to Bumblebee. “I’m willing to bet last night was a celebration. Whatever these bastards are doing, last night was some sort of milestone.”

Before they’d hit the parking lot, Ruby had her scroll flicked open, a sigh escaping her lips. “I think you’re right. No one reported missing last night.”

“Which means either someone’s not filing their paperwork or those bastards from last night are taking a break. Either way, bad news.” They all got into the Camero and she started it up, trying to run through what else they could use to narrow down the criteria. “Try looking for barns or... I dunno... grain silos?”

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but we’re in the breadbasket of Vale; I’m quite certain there’s more of those than people in some areas,” Weiss said, tapping a finger against Ruby’s seat. “Perhaps if I went and checked-”

“How far can you go before you wear yourself out?” She watched in the rearview as the angel looked away, chagrined by the reminder that she didn’t have near the strength she used to, even with a surplus of energy. “Let’s see if we can find a few good places to start and go from there. Okay?”

Throwing the gear into reverse, Yang pulled out of the spot and shifted to drive, brows furrowing as she glanced at the side mirror. There, she could see Blake, watching them leave.

Some people just didn’t know when to quit.

Ruby ran a hand through her hair, putting her scroll down. Hours of searching physical maps and property listings and they had three dozen possible locations while the sun neared the horizon, orange streaking across the sky. Best case scenario, tonight the vampires would rest; worst case, they would unleash almost two dozen brand new vampires, all of which would be hungrier and thirsty than a starving man walking through a desert. 

Absently, she became aware of a presence by her elbow. “Hey, Weiss. Find anything?”

“No,” the angel replied, plopping down in the seat beside her and slumping against the table. Although Yang had made the point earlier, they were forced to do things the old fashioned way to some extent, sending Weiss out to check the locations they’d identified. “But I only got through the first half.”

Sliding over a bottle of holy water Yang had just finished blessing, the young woman ran a hand over her face. “This is hopeless.”

“No, we just need to think. There’s something we’re missing,” her sister said, tossing her own scroll down and standing up, cracking her back. “Let’s take a step back and-” The light thud of wood hitting wood brought her gaze towards the door, brows furrowing as a curse left Yang’s lips. “Fuck, Ruby, why’d you bring this thing inside?”

“I... didn’t?” She looked over at Weiss, who seemed equally perplexed in the brief break she took to stop chugging the holy water, assess the bow, and return to her previous task. “I left it outside.”

“I knew it, it is cursed!” The blonde walked over to where the bow had leaned up against the wall beside the door, bending down to scoop it up. “Damnit, I- wait.” 

Her eyes narrowed, glancing back at Ruby before reaching inside her jacket and drawing her shotgun, leaving the bow alone to put a handle on the doorknob. With a nod, she drew her own pistol, lightly pushing at Weiss’ shoulder to alert her to the potential danger lurking just outside the door.

With all of them ready, Yang quickly threw open the door and shoved the barrel of her shotgun into the face of whoever was unlucky enough to try testing them. For a moment, Ruby worried one of the vampires had braved the pre-dusk hours to come for them, but that concern was swept away as her sister’s shoulders slumped, the weapon falling down to her side as she passed a hand over her face.

“Get inside,” she said, sounding thoroughly annoyed. “Now.”

A moment later, a familiar figure ducked into the motel room, ears drooping slightly.

“Oh... hi, Blake.” Ruby glanced around the room, convinced they probably didn’t look any crazier or more dangerous now than when Yang had a knife pressed against the Faunus’ throat. “Uh... have a seat, I guess.”

“Thanks, Ruby,” she replied, glancing at the shotgun being tucked back into the blonde’s jacket and the table before easing herself down onto the bed.

Almost immediately, Yang frowned. “How do you know her name?”

“By digging deep enough.” The Faunus pulled out her own scroll and waved it. “Searching through almost a hundred aliases took the better part of the day, but every trail leads somewhere.”

Ruby raised a brow, looking over at her sister, who seemed even more annoyed now than before. “Well, I mean, it’s not really hard figuring out my name. I was a registered student at a major university less than a month ago-”

“Yeah, Beacon University, where you were studying Criminal Justice at your sister’s insistence until a spontaneous fire erupted in your apartment and killed your girlfriend,” Blake said, her ears laying back now out of frustration rather than intimidation. “Said sister being Yang Xiao Long, currently wanted in every kingdom on a slew of charges under various pseudonyms. Both of you were born on Patch and your father’s Taiyang Xiao Long, who also has a significant amount of warrants for his arrest- should I keep going?” Amber eyes flashed with a bit of pride and defiance. “I know what I’m doing, okay? If I want to find you, I will, and it seems to me you need my help if you’re going to find the people who took Ilia.”

“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.” Weiss turned around, leaning over the back of her chair to look at the Faunus. “You think you can track down these vampires?”

“I can at least try...” Blake tilted her head to the side slightly, eyes narrowing. “Have we met before?”

“You know, I’d almost forgotten about that, Angel,” Yang said, chuckling slightly. “Her name’s Weiss. Go on, say hi to her.”

Confused, the Faunus complied. “Uh, hello, Weiss?”

“Hello, Blake, and Yang, you’re a terrible person.” The angel grumbled, turning back around to grab the bottle of holy water.

“See that’s just so very wrong of you to say. Blake, look at me.” Her sister made a motion towards the scroll in her hand. “You really think you can help us track down these vampires?”

“I’m certain.” She nodded, resolute. “I just need to know what to look for.”

“Well, a paper trail ain’t it-”

“You stopped by a strip club two months ago in West Pines.” The Faunus raised a brow at the light blush now dusting Yang’s cheeks. “I don’t track just paper.”

“Alright, fine, you can help us figure out where the bastards are.” She motioned towards the table. “But, real quick, if you know Ruby and me, who’s that over there?”

“Who’s- oh.” When amber eyes turned towards the table, Blake appeared surprised. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you over there. Have we met before?”

“You’re an ass, Yang.” Weiss grumbled, lowering her head until her forehead lightly thudded against the table. “An absolute. Ass.”

Her sister just laughed, leaving Ruby to roll her eyes and go over to Blake; the sun was almost on the horizon, and their chances of getting the drop on the vampires dwindled.

Before she had a chance to get down to the details, though, her sister sauntered over to the side of the bed and clapped a hand on her shoulder, speaking softly. “By the way, when we’re done with all this, you and I are going to have a serious talk about cursed objects and why you should never touch one.”

She would not be hearing the end of this any time soon.

Weiss watched as the last bit of sunlight faded from the sky, tucking another flask of holy water in her bolero and smoothing out her skirt. Much to their surprise, Blake had come through and identified a ramshackle barn out in the middle of nowhere, about ten miles from the bar and them. A short burst over there had given her enough of an impression to confirm that, yes indeed, the group of vampires they were looking for were holed up within, and that meant they had quite the task ahead of them. The heavy weight of a machete in her left hand confirmed as much.

“So you’re just going to- going to walk in there and start beheading them? Just like that?” Blake sat on the bed, looking between the sisters with clear horror splayed across her expression. “They’re people-”

“They’re vampires, and I get it that you probably buy all that new age crap, but lemme tell ya, they aren’t the sort you’re dying to invite into your bedroom, all sparkles and roses and immortal love.” Yang stopped packing her bag long enough to walk over to the bed, setting a hand on the Faunus’ shoulder. “Look, in all your digging, you probably figured out that what we- well, I, really, do borders on the realm of good, common sense. That’s because what I do is track down all the terrible things you’ve been told all your life aren’t real, and then I kill them, because they are terrible things.”

“Yang’s right.” Ruby swung her own machete a few times, alternating hands- ambidextrous, a useful skill for anyone in such a line of work. “Vampires are compelled by a hunger they can’t control. They will never pass up a meal and, to them, mortals- humans, Faunus- are the tastiest prey out there.”

“You’re wrong-”

“Blake,” she said, sighing heavily. “You have to accept this as fact. Your friend died the moment those monsters laid hands on her. You can’t save her now.” As the words left her mouth, she could see the splash of confusion, and her own vexation prompted her to cut off the argument before it began. “Yes, we’ve met before, you’ve asked me that twenty-six times since you stepped into the room, no, you won’t remember having done so in about five minutes or the next time you look away from me, yes, I’m sure, and no, it’s not going to stop. Please, realize that you’re out of your depth and you just need to trust us.”

“Getting a little pissy, aren’t ya, Angel?” Yang smirked and she quite nearly felt the inclination to snap back with something cutting but opted not to, knowing full well it would just escalate into another argument. She couldn’t be sure why she felt compelled to start arguments with the blonde, why gaining an edge in them made her feel victorious, but she could see the way it wore down Ruby to constantly be breaking them up. She just wished the elder sister could be a little less blind to it. “But she’s right, ya know. We are trying to help you, protect you, but we can’t work miracles. Ilia’s gone.”

“I refuse to believe that,” Blake replied.

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that, so, in advance, I’m sorry for this.” With motions almost too quick for the naked eye to catch, Yang reached for her belt and then lashed out, the metallic clink of handcuffs echoing in the room as one half encircled the Faunus’ wrist and the other clanked around the bed’s post. “But we really can’t have you running around playing a bit too literal a version of Devil’s Advocate.”

“The fuck-”

“This really is for the best.” Ruby gathered up the bags, conducting another sweep to ensure they weren’t leaving anything behind. “Room service will be by in the morning, so you won’t be left here too long. And we’ll call to make sure someone checks the room.”

“And, ya know, we’re not completely heartless.” Yang grabbed the remote for the television, clicking it on and surfing through the channels. “We’ll even leave you with some appropriate entertainment.” Landing on one that apparently had the express intention of depicting women in lewd situations, she tossed the remote to the other bed after turning the volume up an indecent degree. “There ya go, lots of nice, yelling ladies. Good luck being heard over that!”

“You can’t be fucking serious.” Feline ears laid back as she pulled against the cuffs, scowling at the sisters. “You’re not just going to leave me here like this!”

“Hey, you’ve got a hand free; spend your time wisely.” Yang grabbed her bag and hefted it onto her shoulder. “Take your mind off your troubles. And, uh, if you’re lucky, you’ll never see us again.” Lilac eyes bounced over to Weiss and she could practically hear the thought process behind her next words, another jibe at the angel’s inability to be perceived for long periods of time. Surprisingly, the words never came as the blonde instead turned towards the door. “C’mon. Let’s go clear the nest.”

Yang and Ruby left the room, closing the door behind them. Weiss could easily pop into the back seat and all she had to concern herself with was the bottle of holy water and the machete. So she waited until the sisters had started towards the car before approaching, laying a hand lightly on the Faunus’ shoulder and doing her best to ignore the sounds coming from the television.

“I understand this is hard for you but we are, genuinely, doing what’s best,” she said, hoping she could impart a little peace before they left to do the deed.

Amber eyes shining with tears looked up at her. “You’re telling me that giving up on my best friend is ‘what’s best’? Who even says that?” Blake’s eyes narrowed in anger. “What kind of angel are you?”

“The kind that has made mistakes before... and vowed not to let it happen again.” Weiss sighed, shaking her head. “If nothing else, take comfort that you saved many other lives today. I’m sure your friend can be proud of that.”

As she stepped away, preparing to join the others in Bumblebee, she heard the Faunus’ mumbled words. “It was supposed to be us against the world. We never thought we’d get in over our heads... why does she have to be the one to pay for that?”

Biting her tongue, the angel left and joined the sisters in the car, glancing back to the motel room one last time.

There existed the downside to being remembered, to having memories of others- the inevitable loss. Death came for all, save angels and demons, and even mortals had the opportunity to haunt, either in a figurative or literal sense. How tragic an existence, she mused, to make friends, to forge connections, only to lose them no matter how hard you fight to preserve them.

“Hey, you okay back there?” Yang glanced at her in the rearview while pulling out of the spot. “Got your head in the game?”

“Of course,” she replied, the irony occurring to her in that moment.

How tragic an existence indeed.

Ruby scrolled along the map she’d saved to her scroll, looking up quickly and back down again. “Pull off here.”

“Good spot?”

“If we don’t want to tip them off.” She nodded towards the bend in the road. “A mile that way is the nest. Any closer, they’ll hear us coming.”

“If they haven’t already,” Weiss said, tsking immediately after. “You’d think you’d pick a less conspicuous vehicle, given your line of work.”

“Look, I don’t get many bright spots on a given day, let me have my dream car,” Yang replied, a bit of a smile on her lips as she pulled onto the shoulder. “C’mon. We’ve still got a way to hoof it and only a sliver of a chance that those vamps haven’t high tailed it to an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

They got out, heading to the trunk to grab the machetes and a crossbow, the bolts already well and truly coated in dead man’s blood. Arguably, one of the least savory things Ruby had done thus far, but an ultimate necessity. Plus a silver knife or two each- they would be fighting their way through a nest, so taking as many weapons as they could feasibly carry wasn’t exactly a bad idea.

But then Weiss’ head snapped up, peering down the road. “Someone’s coming.”

“Someone?” Yang peeked around the open trunk, a frown coming to her lips. “I think you underestimated that one just a tad.”

“How many?” Not waiting for an answer, Ruby inched her way around the other side and grimaced. It looked like the group that visited the bar, minus one of the women, and the whole lot looked in high spirits. Not a good sign.

“We can take ‘em,” her sister said, reaching up to close the trunk and slipping the machete under her jacket. “Let’s see if we can get the drop on ‘em. Don’t let them see your weapon until my signal.”

“Good evening, Ladies.” One of the men, with shaggy grey hair and a cocky smirk, called out to them, spreading his hands wide. “Car trouble?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Yang walked around the driver’s side, motioning towards Bumblebee. “Engine just died out on us. I don’t suppose any of you are mechanics?”

“Oh, we’ve got a lot of nifty skills.” He looked back at his compatriots and chuckled. “Name’s Mercury, by the way. Might as well get the formalities out of the way, right?”

“Well, Mercury, I’m-”

“Yang Xiao Long,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Oh, I know who you are. You look just like your Dad, what with the blonde hair and the cocky smile and the jacket.” Mercury shook his head. “He, uh, did a bang up job destroying the nest of the asshole who turned me. Always meant to thank him for that, because if he hadn’t, well, I wouldn’t be here, now would I?” He took a few steps closer, the other vampires beginning to spread out, making a half circle around him. Cutting off all avenues of escape, or trying to anyway. “I’d still be waiting in the shadows for a cow to drop dead, or picking off some homeless guy once every year as a special meal, but now I’m big time! Got myself a nest of my own. And an army just waiting for my word.”

“An army?” Yang chuckled, scrubbing at her nose for a moment before pulling her machete free, as much of a signal as Ruby needed to slip a bolt into the crossbow and take aim. “And here I was hoping we could be subtle about this.”

“There’s nothing subtle about extinction,” Mercury replied, expression twisting into rage. “And it’s high time we take our rightful place at the top of the food chain. Bon appétit, bitch.”

With that, two of the vampires rushed forward while Ruby pulled the trigger, sending the poisoned bolt sailing through the air until it embedded deep within Mercury’s leg, just above the knee. He immediately dropped down, unable to join his compatriots as they took swings at Yang, who ducked and dodged while swinging her machete, able to slice across arms and chests but not quite hitting the neck. Still, the dead man’s blood coating the cutting edge of her blade did enough to make them stagger back, weakened. Another tried rushing towards Weiss, who effortlessly sidestepped the lunge and managed to land a hit along his backside as he passed. However, when he swung around and threw a punch, she somehow didn’t get out of the way quick enough, staggered slightly by the solid cross that landed on her jaw.

“Oh, of course it doesn’t work on you.” Weiss sounded equal parts annoyed and dryly amused as she regained her footing. “Just my luck.”

“Wait, what?” Ruby shuffled a few steps back while reloading the crossbow, taking careful aim and sending the next bolt flying into the forehead of the vampire closest to her. It still wouldn’t be the same as beheading the bastard but would buy her some much needed time; she didn’t quite have the upper body strength of her sister, so she’d probably need a swing or two to make it all the way through the neck. “You can’t pop in and out around these guys?”

“Apparently not,” the angel replied, being more careful this time and managing to nick the vampire’s throat, enough to make him clutch the wound and back up a few steps.

Yang, meanwhile, had already beheaded one of the vampires trying to bite her, and drove the point of her machete into the second’s throat, all the way through, and used that leverage to knock him off his feet. With a boot on his chest, she puled the blade free of flesh and then sliced, cutting his head off completely. “Well damn, Weiss, maybe you’re losing your mojo and becoming straight up mortal.”

“There are so very many things wrong with that statement.” With another bolt sent flying and embedding in the vampire’s shoulder, Weiss had both the opportunity and the advantage, taking care of him while Ruby turned her attention to the one she’d wounded earlier, two hacks making quick work of him. “There, that’s, what, four down, twenty to go?”

Ruby looked up, expecting some sort of gloating remark from Mercury and surprised when it didn’t come- doubly so when neither he nor the woman were anywhere around.

“Well, shit.” Her sister sighed, wiping off the blood on her jacket sleeve. “Guess he got away.”

“He couldn’t have gotten far.” She looked around, then up the road. “But the nest should be our priority.”

“Right.” Yang nodded. “Come on. We’ll get there quicker on foot.”

“How do you figure that one?” Weiss flicked her own machete, dislodging some but not all of the blood.

“Simple- we can follow the trail.” She motioned towards the blood leading back up the road. “Mercury was on and on about the nest he built; he went straight back there. Vampires are a proud batch of bastards.”

“Then, we’re walking into a trap.”

“Yep.” Yang popped the ‘p’ hard enough to convey just how very unimpressed she was with what lay ahead of them. Ruby loaded up another bolt and checked to be sure the machete still hung from her belt, looking over at her sister. “Ready when you are.”

“Well, at least the amount of surprises should be pretty low.” The angel started down the road. “I’m ready.”

“Good.” She nodded. “Let’s go.”

They stood before the rundown barn, enough lights on inside to prove it wasn’t entirely abandoned. In case someone couldn’t hear the commotion going on inside, anyway. Voices- so many voices- combined in whines and howls and pleas, some of which didn’t even sound human. The symphony of newly turned vampires fighting to acclimate to their new status, sensitive to the lights, driven mad by the sound of hearts beating, an unquenchable thirst just beginning to take root.

Yang shook her head. “This is gonna suck.”

Ruby couldn’t help but snort, trying not to laugh.

Weiss, however, seemed far less amused. “Was that a pun?”

“Oh, don’t act so surprised.” She shrugged. “You gotta have a sense of humor with gigs like this.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Well, they already know we’re coming. I say we walk in the front door and-”

“No!” She winced at how abruptly the objection left her lips but tried playing it off as best she could when her sister and the angel looked at her. “I mean... we don’t have to make it easy for them, right? Why not just go in the back?”

“Assuming there is a back, you mean?” Weiss rolled her eyes, then scanned over the barn. “You honestly think the element of surprise is even possible at this point?”

She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot, right?”

Biting her lip, she hoped beyond hope that it would be enough to win the fight. Thankfully, Yang seemed to see the sense in her plan, nodding.

“Yeah, there’s gotta be somewhere we can sneak in... but first, we’ll need a bit of a distraction.”

Weiss gave her a flat look. “... why are you looking at me like that?”

“Do you even have blood?”

“I’d rather not find out, if we’re being perfectly frank!”

“We don’t need a distraction!” Ruby nodded towards the barn. “Mercury’s wounded and he’s pissed, we just killed over half his entourage, and all he’s left with are loud, upset, hungry newborn vampires just dying to bite anything, and that includes him. How about we just play this one by ear a little bit and see if he trips and falls on his own sword?”

“That’s banking on a lot of hope, Rubes.” Her sister raised a brow. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah...” She shrugged. “I got a feeling, is all. We can do this without putting Weiss at risk.”

“I’m already in favor of this plan.”

“She means ‘no more risk than either of us’ because we’re still walking into a nest in the dead of night.” Yang shook her head and sighed. “Alright, Sis, we’ll try it your way. But stay close and watch each other’s backs. Newborn vamps are strong and crazy from overstimulation; they really don’t like loud noises or brightness. You both grabbed flashlights, right?” They both produced theirs, Ruby slinging the crossbow since she wouldn’t have a free hand going forward. “Alright. Let’s sneak around.”

The three began picking their way around back, trying not to disturb the rusted farm equipment abandoned along with the barn.

She just hoped she was right.

Yang pressed up against the wooden wall, taking a firm grip on the rusted handle of a dilapidated back door and easing it open as quietly as possible. The racket within had calmed some and she could hear Mercury shouting at the others- he’d probably used his own blood to placate some of them, nevermind the dead man’s blood poisoning his veins. Well, better luck for them, she thought, if he insisted on doing half the work for them; weakened vamps were a good deal better to deal with than ‘healthy’ ones.

Looking back to Ruby and Weiss, she held up three fingers, hoping they would understand that the element of surprise probably wouldn’t be there’s for long. They’d have to move quick.

On a silent count of three, she pulled the door open and rushed in, machete raised and ready, but dropped down behind a stack of crates almost immediately, followed by the others. From a quick glance, no one had noticed their presence, so best to position themselves as best they could before the real bloodbath began.

“Are you ready? To feast on the live blood of those beneath us? To no longer be relegated to the shadows?” God, this dud was on a power trip and she had to fight not to call out how ridiculous he sounded. She probably should’ve known by how he slicked his hair to the side that he had a flair for the dramatic. “Tonight begins of our war of attrition!”

This dude just loved the sound of his own voice, didn’t he?

Looking to her sides, Yang nodded at Ruby and Weiss as they prepared to pop up and over the crates. With any luck, the newborns were still tied up or otherwise restrained- too dangerous to let them run amok- and they would only have to deal with Mercury and the other full fledged vamp.

“But first, I bring you a gift! Dinner time!”

Before they could make their move, the vampire they’d left unaccounted for reached over the crates and plunged a knife into her shoulder, pulled a curse from her lips as she yelled out. Ruby and Weiss reacted almost immediately, swinging opposite ways so their machetes clanged when they met in the middle and the vampire’s head all but fell into Yang’s lap, drenching her in putrid blood. Thankfully- if an upside could be found- none of it landed on her shoulder, as she instinctively reached up and pulled the knife out, fresh blood beginning to soak through her shirt.

But it didn’t seem like Mercury was too concerned about losing yet another of his ilk, busying himself with something on the other side of the barn.

“Okay, plan B, I’m the distraction,” she said, getting to her feet and dropping the flashlight, her right arm all but useless thanks to the knife wound. At a glance, she could tell this whole fight would be against the clock, iron wrought cages keeping little groups of newly turned vampires separated, maybe three or four a pop, and a lot of people hadn’t been doing their paperwork, since at least six were filled with four or five each. “You two, focus on Mercury. Keep as many in their cages as possible.”

She probably wouldn’t get a shot at the bastard considering he’d already unlocked one door, throwing it wide open. On the one hand, she was probably lucky- the cage only contained three vampires- but on the other hand, they were coordinated, not howling and chomping at the bit like the others now that fresh blood hung in the air. They were probably a few weeks into their transformation, able to control some instincts but still hyped up on their own life blood and dying for the chance to test their new limits.

“Well... fuck,” she said, tightening the grip on her machete and widening her stance. “I am not a fucking buffet.”

“Oh.” Mercury laughed, shaking his head. “Yes, you are.”

From where she stood, she could see the gleaming fangs lining the mouths of the new vamps, how their eyes focused on her alone and allowed Ruby and Weiss to move around to flank them. Three on one didn’t sound like odds she’d like on a good day, much less with an injured arm, but Yang steeled her nerves and made a ‘come hither’ motion with right.

The first one charged, blinded by his hunger, which made it easy for Weiss to merely catch him around his neck with the machetes, no swinging required. The other two were more cautious first jumping up before advancing, practically running on the tops of the cages to get around Ruby and Weiss.

Well, two on one was better than three, and she wasn’t out of the fight just yet. She jumped back as they landed in front of her- a guy and a gal, the former built like a brick shithouse and the latter more slender, which meant she had little chance of relying on speed or strength to carry her through.

“Come on, now,” she said, trying to buy herself a little time as Ruby and Weiss tried to deal with Mercury. “This really isn’t something to lose your head over, is it?”

Apparently, vampires didn’t possess senses of humor, the one rushing at her while the other hung back and bided her time. Meanwhile, Weiss got thrown back by Mercury, who seemed to be holding his own despite the dead man’s blood, blocking Ruby’s attempted to behead him with a knife of his own. Probably would be a comically mismatched fight if it weren’t for his supernatural strength, but she didn’t have the luxury of worrying after Ruby as the vampires continued coming after her.

The guy tried punching her, tried grabbing her, even tried sweeping her legs from beneath her, and she just barely managed to survive each and every attack, dancing just out of his range. Then, an opportunity opened up, and she swung the machete, cleaving almost all the way through on the first go even with her off hand. The second strike finished the work of the first... but at the price of leaving herself wide open on the left, an opportunity the last of the newborns released didn’t waste in exploiting.

As Yang was taken to the ground, a pained cry leaving her lips, she could hear a similar shout from Ruby and then Weiss, as well as the clang and clatter of another cage door bursting open. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in much of a position to react, too busy throwing her left arm up and across the throat of the vampire now poised over her, gleaming fangs inches from biting into her face. Grey eyes tinted orange as her skin began to turn red, splotches of yellow breaking up the color- once a Faunus of some sort, had to be, not that she was in much of a position to ask or care. Now, the vampire had one intention, and that was turning her into a snack.

She reached blindly with her right hand, trying to grab the handle of her machete, wherever it had dropped, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out where it’d gone and so much as turning her head away seemed to be a mistake in the making, every little shift meaning the difference between life and death. She tried kicking back with her feet, creating some much needed distance, but the vampires followed her, stayed atop, just inches from those fangs finding purchase in her flesh.

“Ilia!” A voice pierced the din, and the vampire immediately snapped her head up to look towards the front of the barn. There stood Blake, with no weapon and no means of defending herself, just calling attention to herself. “Ilia, stop!”

“Oh, look.” Mercury’s voice sounded winded, a cough thoroughly ruining his smugness. “Dessert just showed up.”

And if she hadn’t been front row to the show, she wouldn’t have believed it. The vampire’s entire demeanor shifted, the red and yellow fading as her eyes reverted to grey for a split second before it all came roaring back with a vengeance. She threw herself off Yang, started sprinting away, and the blonde knew she didn’t have much time. Twisting around, she found her machete and leapt to her feet, entirely prepared to throw her only weapon if to just buy Blake a few more seconds to turn and run, but halted short of actually doing it.

Because the newborn vamp wasn’t gunning for the Faunus. No, she was making a beeline for Mercury, plowing into him with all the force of a mac truck given how he ragdolled into the side of the barn.

“Yang!” Ruby called out, kicking a vampire in the face as she scrambled backwards, trying to get back to her feet. Fresh blood ran from her temple, making her a prime target, and Weiss was doing everything in her power to help, becoming more clinical with her strikes. However, they were outnumbered, and she had a choice to make. “Get Mercury!”

Well, that made things easier.

As Weiss helped Ruby to her feet, Yang jumped over a crate and booked it towards the lead vampire, who seemed to have his hands full trying to fend off his own creation. Ilia- had to be her- was matching him step for step, and her uncoordinated movements leveled the field against the dead man’s blood still working through him. 

Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out another bottle of the stuff, popping the top and pouring it over her machete in time to take a swing at his back. The blade bit in deep, from shoulder to hip, and it slowed him down enough that Ilia could wrap him up and take him to the ground while he cried out in agony.

Yang raised the machete up, bringing it down with all the force she could muster just as Ilia darted out of the way. And with that, the machete bit into Mercury’s neck, cleanly severing his head from his shoulders and burying deep into the wooden floorboards.

Across the room, the commotion suddenly halted, the other newborns jarred by the loss of the one who created them. In the lull, Ruby and Weiss managed to knock the three still alive on their asses, machetes raised and ready to whittle that number down a little more.

“Wait!” Yang looked up at the vampire holding her hands out in a placating gesture. “Wait, don’t hurt them- please, they- they’ll stop.”

“No, they won’t,” she said, getting to her feet and yanking her own weapon from its place, preparing to face down the creature once more. “They might be dazed right now but they’ll attack again.”

“No, they won’t. Please.” Her skin and eyes had reverted to what had to be their default coloring. “Look, none of us asked for this. Give them time, they’ll come down-”

“Yeah, and then they’ll get hungry.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re going to hurt anyone!” Blake stepped between them, amber eyes flashing with indignation. “You can’t pass judgment on someone before they’ve even committed a crime.”

“This isn’t about philosophy; this is about facts,” she said, mouth drawing into a tight line. “First smell of fresh blood, first pang of hunger, and it’ll be a bloodbath-”

“You say that standing there, covered in blood, and no one seems to be nibbling on you,” the Faunus replied. “Or them.”

Quickly, she glanced back, confirming that Ruby was still bleeding, though she doubted any of the blood covering Weiss was her own; it looked blackened almost, not bright or even muted red.

“We can’t walk away from a barn full of ticking time bombs.” Yang shook her head. “It’s irresponsible.”

“We don’t have to be that.” Ilia made a gesture towards the corner, where the festering meat of a long dead cow sat alongside full jars of blood. “There are other ways to sustain ourselves. It’s like- like going vegetarian. A strict diet we adhere to, and no one has to suffer. Maybe we can even raise the cows ourselves, send the meat off to some plant and keep the blood for ourselves. We can abide by that.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Yang.” Ruby called out, forcing her to look back, horror overcoming her expression as her little sister very slowly drew her machete over her arm, deliberately deep enough to draw blood. Then she knelt down in front of one of the newborns and held it out, as if daring the creature to take a bite of her. And even though he looked for all the world like he wanted to... the vampire looked back at Ilia, as if seeking permission, which wouldn’t be surprising- with Mercury dead, and the rest of the elder vampires, she probably qualified as the eldest in terms of their hierarchy. Seemed as if that inclination came with the whole blood sucking bit. “Yang, I think she’s telling the truth.”

“Ruby-”

“Put aside your preconceived notions for one moment and look around you,” Weiss said, her own eyes trailing around the barn. “They’ve been kept like animals. I’ve seen this time and again from on high- this is how vampires create more. By force, never by choice.” The angel’s gaze finally fell on Ilia. “If you’re making the choice to do no harm to others, that’s one thing. I’m... grudgingly willing to believe you. But can you guarantee that others feel the same? What happens when they choose differently?”

Her grey eyes dropped down, staring at her shoes for a moment before she looked up, and Yang recognized that look a bit too much for comfort. Grim, unwavering determination. “Then we handle our own. We didn’t choose this but there’s only one way out of it as far as I can tell. So we either play nice... or we don’t play at all. That’s about the long and short of it... isn’t it?”

“So, you’re really expecting me to buy this?” Yang looked around at all of them, a frown tugging at her lips. “That just because a vamp says ‘pretty please’ and promises to stick to the dairy, I should just accept that?”

"Well, Sis, do you have a better way to explain how we’re standing here talking, both of us drenched in blood and literally surrounded by vampires?” Ruby made a redundant motion to the others, how even those still in the cages weren’t tugging at the doors or even near them. In fact, they seemed... afraid. Afraid of the machetes, afraid of the outcome- they were just scared out of their minds.

“Goddamnit.” She scratched at her cheek and winced, reminded of the wound in her shoulder. “Your name’s Ilia, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I got two questions for you.” She rested the blunt side of the machete against her shoulder. “What were you before this happened? Before you got abducted and turned?”

"Are you expecting some philosophical answer or are you filing my tax returns?”

“Just be honest.”

“A dumb kid,” she replied with a mirthless chuckle. “A dumb kid who thought she knew how the world worked.”

“And what are you now?”

For a moment, she looked lost. “A dumb kid who has no idea how the world works... and also wants to drink blood.”

Ruby smiled, flipping the machete around in her hand. “Welp! That’s a good enough answer for me!”

“Oh no.” Weiss put a hand to her temple and sighed. “You’re actually starting to make sense. I’ve been among mortals too long.”

As much as Yang wanted to object... she did have to acknowledge that she’d been given exactly the sort of answer she was seeking. Not only were they promising not to prey on mortals but Ilia had also come up with a convenient solution for the sheer number of them and securing enough food for that many vampires. Now, she didn’t even possess the same disdain for mortals that most vampires did.

“I don’t like this.” She slowly lowered her machete and shook her head. “Not one bit...” Yang offered her hand. “But if you’re willing to make a promise, I’ll hold you to it.”

“I will too-”

“No, Blake,” Ilia said, reaching out to put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, expression pinching in contrition. “I know what you’re thinking and you can’t stay here.”

Surprised, the Faunus rounded on her. “What do you mean- I’m not abandoning you.”

“That’s not what this is.” Waving a hand, she indicated the other vampires. “But there’s no way we can afford to risk having a regular person here with us. And I’m not turning you- trust me, Blake, you don’t want this nightmare.” Ilia returned her attention to Yang and took her hand, shaking it firmly. “We can’t stay here, specifically; this place isn’t going to be able to sustain livestock. But I’ll give you the address as soon as we find a place. You’re free to drop by if you so much as suspect us of going back on our word.”

“We might also drop by every now and then just to say hi.” She glanced over at Ruby, who just smiled wide, spattered with blood and with a fresh bruise just beginning to turn purple swelling underneath her eye. “Be friendly, ya know?”

Yang had to resist rolling her eyes.

This might very well be a huge mistake... but with Mercury out of the way, maybe this lot stood a chance at becoming something akin to a legitimate part of society instead of bloodsucking bottomfeeders lurking in the shadows.

Maybe.

Blake leaned back against the wall of the barn, eyes downcast as the sisters attended to their wounds. Every now and again they’d talk to the wind or say something to a ‘Weiss’ but she hardly cared about their particular brand of crazy- even if a year ago she’d probably consider herself crazy had anyone told her what she’d be living through. Finding out vampires were real was one thing but learning that there were people out there who hunted them down with impunity... well, that’s the sort of thing that puts the word ‘fear’ into a whole new context. The breadth of their arsenal alone hinted that there were even more things that lurked in the dark, more monsters out there that she had always blown off, but they were probably real, real enough to kill her and that... well... it was a lot to take in, to say the least.

“I’m sorry,” Ilia said, coming out of the barn and leaning up beside her, crossing her arms over her chest. “That you can’t stay, I mean, I- I wish you could... but-”

“It’s for the best.” Her frown became worse. “I’ve been hearing that phrase a lot lately.”

“Yeah...” She sighed, eyes and skin turning blue, a clear sign that the decision wasn’t made lightly. That didn’t make it sting any less, though. “You know, when we left Menagerie... we never thought things would end up like this.” A sad smile. “We were ready to take on the world without even knowing what the world would do to us.”

“I’d take it back in a heartbeat.” A shaky breath left her lips as she tried not to cry. “I’d do anything to stop this-”

“You can’t turn back time.” Ilia moved, putting a hand on her shoulder and massaging it gently. “Don’t let that eat you up, Blake; sometimes... that’s just how things go. Bad things happen and you try to pick up the pieces afterwards. We just can’t put things back the way they were and we can’t do it together.” She was pulled into a hug, wrapping her arms around- more like clinging to Ilia as the tears began to fall. “I love you, Blake. You’re... the best friend a gal could ask for and I know you’ve got some great things ahead of you. I’m praying you do.”

That just made her heart clench painfully because she’d known for a while now that her best friend didn’t see her as just a friend anymore. That ‘I love you’ wasn’t just meant in a platonic way, and she’d told herself they’d talk about it once they found somewhere stable, when they weren’t just scraping by and could actually entertain normal things like dates to the movies. But putting it off had also put it out of reach, and that stung something awful.

“Are you sure you won’t turn me?” She sniffled and cleared her throat. “You won’t let me make that choice?”

“No, Blake.” Ilia hugged her tighter. “I can’t let you become this. Right now, I’m fighting the impulse to bite you and I’m scared I can’t keep up the fight much longer.” She pulled back, an absolutely heartbroken expression coming over her face. “I know I said we can control it but it’s not easy, at least not yet. Don’t ask for this nightmare. Go live a better life.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” They’d been inseparable for almost two decades, since they were both in diapers. Grown up together, faced down every challenge together, rebelled together- as long as she was with Ilia, she felt invincible.

“You’ll figure it out. You’re Blake.” She laughed as she pulled back, offering a little shrug as her hair and skin returned to normal. “You’re the one who got us out of jail in east Vacuo, and you figured out how to get free food from the local Burger Shake, and you somehow tracked me down out in the middle of nowhere... it might take some time, but you’ll figure it out.” Shuffling a little bit, she looked away. “And, maybe... I mean, you could always go home. Your folks will take you back.”

“I’m not so sure-”

“I am.” Ilia chuckled. “You’re probably the only person on Remnant that can walk into a barn of half crazed vampires thirsting for blood and somehow argue that they shouldn’t be killed and succeed.” Another shrug. “You had to get it from somewhere. They’ll forgive you, no matter what.”

“Can I come back and visit sometime?” Blake ran a hand through her hair, mindful of her ears. “I just- I don’t want this to be a... final goodbye."

“Give us a few months. I think we’ll all be mostly under control by then. I’ll send the address to your scroll, okay?”

“Okay.” She hugged her best friend one more time before turning towards the car she’d hotwired in the parking lot. For lack of any better game plan, she supposed she’d returning it to the motel and then... pick a direction and start walking. Or... something.

Suddenly, a heavy weight landed across her shoulders, almost enough to make her legs buckle but not with enough force to make it so. “So, Blake, right? Which way you headin’?”

“I’m... not really sure... Yang, wasn’t it?” She glanced up at the blonde as they walked together, noting the younger sister had appeared on her other side. “And Ruby. Please, don’t handcuff me to something again; I think I’ve been through enough today.”

“Oh, I agree, been put through damn near hell, which is why I extend the following offer in all seriousness.” She was brought to a halt rather effortlessly by the woman, a smile curving her lips. “Why don’t you roll with us?”

“Really?” Ruby seemed surprised by the words but didn’t appear to outright object, despite her sister taking it as such.

“Hey, you got to pick up your stray, I’m pickin’ up mine. Plus, she’s really useful.” Yang started ticking off on her fingers. “She got out of the handcuffs, hotwired a car, tracked down a vampire nest, and had both a knife against her throat and a gun pointed at her head, and was still crazy enough to come out here.” She shrugged. “That speaks to a level of dedication that fits in pretty well with this line of work.”

But Blake could read between the lines. “And I’m an insurance policy to make sure Ilia stays in line; you’ve got me, you’ve got her cooperation.”

“See? Crazy and smart.” She laughed. “Just the sort of person who can become a hunter.”

Rolling her eyes, the Faunus glanced at Ruby. “Who else did you manage to rope into this ‘line of work’ as you put it?”

“Oh, right, Blake, meet Weiss.”

She turned her head, expecting to find some manner of animal or a key chain or something that could be easily hidden and would explain why she’d only seen the two sisters since they’d entered the bar earlier that day. Much to her surprise, she found another woman walking beside Ruby, with white hair and clean clothes, not even the slightest trace she’d been anywhere near the barn, considering the sisters had come away bloodied and bruised.

However, even as some part of her mind insisted she’d never seen the woman before... another part seemed to insist she had.

“Uh, sorry, have we met-”

“Twenty fucking seven, Yang!” 

She immediately busted up laughing. “And still as funny as the first time!”

For a moment, it looked like Weiss was about to smack the backside of the blonde’s head, but she managed to duck and dodge away, jogging ahead of them while laughing heartily.

“What just-”

“So, Weiss is an angel, and her perception to mortals is kinda fluid?” Ruby nudged her shoulder in a friendly way, smiling slightly. “You’ve actually met her and had all this explained to you twenty six times already, but every time you turn away, your memory adjusts itself to forget everything about her, specifically.” She shrugged, nothing but a befuddled sort of amusement in her expression. “And, for some reason, Yang finds that hilarious.”

Blake blinked, watching as Weiss finally caught up to Yang and started giving her an earful, which the blonde took with a smile and a roll of her eyes. From the sounds of it, the lecture had been given before and would be given again, and both participants were well aware of that.

... first vampires and now this. Just what had she gotten herself into?

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @wolvesofinnistrad!

Read on AO3

*****

Give Us A Shot

Chapter 1

Stiles Stilinski isn’t sure when ‘watching the game’ turned into ‘watching Derek Hale play’, but here he is, halfway to the championship game, and his eyes are glued to only one player… whether he has the ball or not.

It had started as a minor thing, really. Scott McCall, Stiles’ best friend and also most frustrating headache, had asked Stiles to check out the sports teams in his most recent attempt to woo the new girl that Scott had insta-crushed on. Being the bestest friend to ever friend, Stiles had agreed even though he thought that trying out would just be a waste of time, since neither one of them were any good…

What? It wasn’t like he was going to make Scott suffer alone!

He had checked out the lacrosse teams and the swim teams, leaving the basketball team for last. He made it to the gym just as the guys piled in from the locker room to start practice.

He would’ve said it was like a Disney movie (if he was the kind of person who believed in stuff like that), the way that his gaze had been drawn to a dark haired, beautifully athletic (and slightly familiar) Senior helping a Freshman through some warm-up exercises. It didn’t help that, instead of the usual douchebag behavior that jocks usually pulled, he was nice and helpful to the guy, no matter how many times he had to repeat himself.

He had been kinda stuck after that, despite Scott giving up his plan when the new girl-Allison-had introduced herself to Scott later that same day and the two of them hit it off like they knew each other for years.

Now, though, Stiles has more free time than he knows what to do with, and he’s been spending most of it watching someone run around a court after a ball or defend so well that their team ends up with the ball again. A warm feeling fills his chest every time Derek makes a basket.

Frowning as he watches Derek move to the left side of the court, probably in some sort of defensive position, Stiles tries to remember if he ever felt like this before.

If there ever was this overwhelming need to be there to support someone, whether or not they even knew he existed…

The feeling reminded him of how he was with his dad and Scott, but different somehow. The only thing that came close was the way he had acted around Lydia when-

Stiles jerks in his seat, thankfully not drawing anyone’s attention because Beacon Hills had just scored the winning basket and they’re already on their feet, cheering the team on.

The noise is a good cover for the way that Stiles silently and emphatically flips the fuck out.

It’s not that he was surprised that he might’ve liked guys as much, if not more, than he did girls; Danny could attest to the multiple times that Stiles had tried to figure out if he was attractive to gay guys, and the multiple times that Danny answered that even if Stiles was attractive to gay guys, Danny wasn’t one of them.

Danny could be a bit of a dick sometimes…

Stiles shakes his head and tries to get back to what his original thought was, his eyes drifting to the court as he attempted to backtrack, only to find Derek staring straight at him!

Dropping his gaze to his lap, Stiles tries to keep from falling into a full-blown panic attack as he mentally tells himself that Derek was simply looking for his friends, that his looking in Stiles’ direction was simply a coincidence and that he was perfectly fine.

Counting his breaths for a few moments, Stiles slowly lifts his head and breathes a sigh of relief to see that Derek has once more focused on the game and is no longer looking at him… or in his direction, as the case may be.

His mini freak out is another reason why Stiles realizing he may have a crush on Derek is a bad thing. He’s had a hard time with Derek’s teammates; Jackson is the major offender with all the bruises that he’s caused shoving Stiles into lockers. Just the thought of one of them knowing how Stiles feels or starting to wonder why Derek is suddenly interested in him…

Why is Derek suddenly looking at him, if that was what he was doing, instead of looking for his friends? It was widely known through the school, as Derek was one of the more popular kids currently walking the halls, that most of his friends usually had their own thing going on during his games and didn’t show up unless it was one of the big ones.

The buzzer goes off again as someone makes another basket and the crowd around him nearly deafens Stiles as they roar. His gaze is pulled to the side of the court as Derek makes his way to the bench, stopping for a second to do a little shimmy with one of the cheerleaders. The roaring of the crowd amplifies when the showoff decides to throw in a freaking backflip while he’s at it!

Finstock growls at Derek even as he laughs, his eyes darting over to where Stiles is sitting and there’s no doubt about it: Derek definitely is looking at him.

Stiles immediately looks over to where the halftime show is going on, feeling his face heat when he catches Derek still grinning at him from the corner of his eye.

Well, that solves that question, but it also causes about a thousand more to sprout up in his brain and Stiles isn’t sure if he should just make a break for it now, or wait until the game is over to try to hide in the crowd…

What is the deal with Derek?

Is this some sort of jock prank?

Is he trying to win a bet?

Stiles had asked around after seeing him that first time, he started paying more attention in class when he found out that he shared a few with Derek, and aside from that one group project they worked on with about five other people later in the year, he and Derek really don’t interact with each other all that much.

Maybe he’s noticed Stiles’ sudden fixation and is going to make him knock it off? Maybe he thinks that Stiles works for the school newspaper and is expecting to be asked about the great basketball player that’s won the school championships ever since he was a baby freshman.

Maybe-

The buzzer signaling the end of the game, a slightly louder and more piercing buzzer than the one that signals a basket being made, sounds and the entire team rushes the court amid howls of celebration.

Not willing to press his luck and recognizing an opening when he sees one, Stiles uses that moment to slip out of the gym and make his way back home, mind whirling with the thoughts that a jock actually interacted with him (if you could count a smile and maybe a wink as an interaction) without immediately following it up with some sort of insult or attack.

His phone buzzes, pulling Stiles out of his thoughts, and he sees a message from Scott waiting for him.

Halo 2nite? Or are you still drooling @ Hot Jock?

Yeah, Halo. And I wasn’t drooling!

Whatev, man. You h8 sports. You go 4 HOT JOCK!

The next couple of texts come in quick succession and are nothing but a bunch of emojis that end with about twelve eggplants in a row. Stiles is really starting to regret teaching Scott what that means now that he’s using it at every opportunity that he can.

Rolling his eyes, Stiles makes his way over to his Jeep and tries to put confusing Seniors out of his mind while also thinking of some excuse to make up to keep Scott from hassling him all night.

He’s already got enough on his plate.

Derek finally makes it out of the school, away from all the cheering people, only to see the taillights of a powder blue Jeep as it pulls out of the parking lot and heads down the road.

Damn it.

He had been hoping that the guy who had been showing up to his games lately might actually stick around after this one, especially since Derek decided to let him know that he had noticed him…

Maybe he was just really shy and now that Derek made contact he got nervous? It made sense, considering how many games he had been to and how he never seemed to want to stick around… Or maybe Derek isn’t the one that the guy has been staring at and he left to avoid the awkward conversation that would’ve followed Derek asking him out.

That would make sense, given Derek’s track record with trying to find someone to date who wasn’t crazy or thought that they were ‘better as friends’ only to move towns the next summer. It would make sense that Derek thinks this really cute guy is shyly checking him out and it turns out that Derek was just in the same place as whoever the guy was really looking at…

“Yo, Hale! Where the hell are you going, man? You need to shower and change, we’re going to Rosa’s to celebrate!”

Heaving out a sigh, Derek makes his way back to the locker rooms to shower and dress on automatic, his thoughts still lingering on the guy from the bleachers.

Derek had recognized him as someone from their school, someone that he even had a class with or two with, but couldn’t really pull up anything about him other than he knew the guy was a sarcastic ass. He had spent that one class arguing with Mr. Harris every time the teacher opened his mouth, despite how nearly everyone was scared of the guy...

A hard thwack to his shoulder pulls him out of his thoughts and Derek braces himself just in time to catch Isaac Lahey as he leans all his weight on Derek’s back.

“That last basket was awesome, man! It looked like you had just growled at that defense and the guy nearly pissed his pants! Are you sure you’re not part wolf or something?!?”

Jackson Whittemore shoves Isaac off of Derek before he can respond, making him land heavily on the bench Derek was just sitting on. “Get the fuck off him, Lahey, and go hang on Boyd. That loser needs more friends anyway.”

Derek lands an elbow in the middle of Jackson’s stomach, making the captain let out an ‘oof’ of pain before moving to help Isaac to his feet. “Quit being a dick to Isaac, Jackson, and quit calling Boyd a loser. The guy is twice as good at ball as you are, and he scored more baskets, so chill.”

Giving the lot of them an exaggerated eyeroll, no doubt to cover up the fact that he’s been beaten at his own game, Jackson stomps off to find someone else to torture.

“God, that dude is a dick.” Isaac huffs, rubbing at his hip before deciding it isn’t as injured as he thought. “Someone really needs to take him down a peg or two…”

“Let me know if he’s bothering you, man, I’ll make sure he knocks it off.” Derek doesn’t like that Isaac seems to be able to brush off Jackson’s assholish actions so easily. It makes him feel like this is a regular occurrence instead of a random happenstance.

“I can deal with Jackson, don’t worry. I just wish someone would punch him in the jaw every now and then, just to let him know that he can’t get away with all the shit he pulls.”

“You and nearly everyone he breathes near,” Vernon Boyd mutters, nodding at Derek when he joins them as they exit the locker room. The three of them falling into an easy walk beside each other. “Enough about that douche, let’s talk about why Derek was showing off during the game.”

Derek feels his face getting hot at Boyd’s comment, even more so when Isaac perks up like a puppy asked to play fetch and drawls, “Oh, yeah! I saw that little flip you did, Derek! And don’t say it was for that cheerleader chick you were dancing with, ‘cause you immediately were looking in the bleachers after that!”

“Oooooooh, are we talking about Derek’s possible love life?!?” Erica Reyes pounces on Boyd’s back when they make it out to the parking lot, giving him a rather enthusiastic kiss as soon as he catches her. “Mhm, has someone finally caught your eye?”

Heaving out a sigh and knowing that they won’t let this go, or (God forbid!) they’ll get his family involved until he says something, Derek reluctantly tells them about the boy that has been coming to their games and his hope that maybe he was coming because he was working up the nerve to talk to Derek.

“-But he keeps leaving before I can talk to him, and he doesn’t seem like he’s really paying attention to anyone else, much less the game, so I don’t know what his deal is!” Derek concludes a few hours later, when they finally made it to Rosa’s and found a table a little way away from the loudly celebrating basketball team.

“He sounds familiar…” Isaac muses, munching on a fry as he manfully ignores the way Boyd and Erica are practically eating each other’s faces. “I think I’ve seen him around before, might even be a friend of a friend…”

“You have more friends?” Derek teases, smile growing when Isaac rolls his eyes at him.

“Ha ha. Yes, I have more friends. Sometimes I need a break from that.” Isaac gestures to where Erica is draped over Boyd’s front, the both of them pretzeled around each other in a way that has Derek ignoring the fact that he can only see Boyd’s hands.

“Good point. Think they could be my friends too?”

“Let me check if this guy is the one you’re looking for, and then we’ll see.”

Chapter 2

Gaming with Scott always makes Stiles feel better, and tonight was no different, despite the teasing about Derek.

Due to Stiles being unable to completely keep anything from his bro, Scott has the basic understanding of Stiles’ newfound interest in Derek, but he doesn’t know of him past ‘the Hot Jock’ nickname, or the depth of Stiles’ obsession.

Well, he wouldn’t call it an obsession; it was more like a super-focused interest, which happened every now and again, but rarely enough that everyone and their mother made sure to remind Stiles of whatever his last ‘obsession’ was.

“So, should I be on the lookout for another billboard asking a Hot Jock to go on a date with you?”

Stiles groans as Scotty’s question coincides with him kicking Stiles off the road in Mario Kart, the game they had picked when Stiles inattention had proven rather fatal in Halo earlier. “It wasn’t a billboard, it was just a really long banner of art paper and I was twelve, man! You’ve done some pretty stupid shit to impress a girl you like, so you have no room to talk!”

“I knew you liked him! I knew it wasn’t just some social study bullshit!”

Scott manages to knock him off the road again and then Stiles gets bumped all the way back to eighth place on the last lap, so he gives it up as a bad job. “I can’t like him, Scott! He’s a jock! If he doesn’t beat me up for just looking at him tomorrow, then the rest of his posse will! I know Jackson, at least, will make my life miserable if he so much as catches a whiff of this!”

“Not all of the jocks are assholes, Stiles.” Scott must realize that this is a serious matter, because he pauses the game and twists so that he’s facing Stiles head-on. “Besides, if this guy is as awesome as you say he is, then he should tell his friends to lay off… Hell, he shouldn’t even be friends with them in the first place if they’re all like Jackson.”

“I don’t think he’s like Jackson,” Stiles mutters, automatically defending Derek even as he realizes it was true. Aside from them playing on the same team, Stiles hasn’t even seen Derek and Jackson looking at each other, much less talking.

“So you have nothing to worry about then!” Scott’s unwavering optimism makes Stiles snort, which in turn causes his friend to make a face at him before starting up the game again. “Alright, yes, you have to worry about him saying that he doesn’t like you or want to date you, but that’s the worry that everybody has when they’re asking someone out! You’ll be fine!”

“And yet, you always make it sound like it’s the end of the world whenever you have to think of something to say to a girl you like…”

“Whereas you never think about what to say and just blurt out the first thing that pops into your head,” is Scott’s smug reply. He uses that moment to throw a blue shell at Stiles’ character, effectively stealing his position at first place. “I think the real problem here is making sure that this guy doesn’t run away, because you can be kind of an asshole, dude.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Scotty, really means the world to me.” Despite the sarcastic reply, Stiles knows that Scott does have a point. He does tend to say the first thing that comes to mind, and it does have a track record of blowing up in his face.

At least the plus side is that Derek will know right away what he’s getting into…?

Dropping his controller on the floor, Stiles thumps his head back against his bed before rubbing both of his hands over his face, huffing out a hard breath before stating, “I have no idea what to do here, Scott. I just… really want him to like me.”

Once more, the game music cuts off as Scott pauses it. There are a few moments of silence before he asks, “Do you really think he won’t or is this just you looking for the worst situation that could happen?”

“I don’t even know him, Scott, aside from the fact that he has a few classes with me and plays basketball. I can say that about most of the players on the team. Hell, I can say that about Jackson. I have no idea if he’ll like me or not, I don’t even know if he likes guys!”

“Hey, Stiles, relax!” Scott has now completely abandoned the game and is tugging on Stiles’ hands, trying to get Stiles to look at him, but Stiles will not be moved by Scott’s pitiful puppy dog eyes. “I’ll go talk to him or one of his friends and find out if he likes guys at least, that way you’ll have one less thing to worry about when you talk to him!”

“You’d… really do that for me, Scotty?”

“Sure!”

Stiles drops his hands and gives Scott a grin to rival the one stretching across his bro’s face, only for it to slip a few seconds later when something that he hasn’t really thought of makes itself known.

“Shit, you’re only doing this so that I tell you who ‘Hot Jock’ is, aren’t you?!?”

Scott’s laughter is the only answer Stiles gets, and it causes him to drop to the floor in an attempt to crawl under the bed and get away from everything.

“Ah, come on, Stiles! It isn’t that bad!”

Groaning, Stiles is tempted to ask what could possibly be worse, but decides to keep from pressing his luck any further today. “Just promise me that you’ll at least try to make me sound cooler than I am when talking to Derek, please?”

“I prom- wait, Derek? As in Derek Hale? The MVP of our basketball team and the guy that has nearly the whole school after him? That Derek?”

The utter shock in Scott’s voice tells Stiles just how ridiculous this whole thing is and he decides to go back to his previous plan of hiding under the bed for the next three years.

“Hey, no, Stiles! I’ll still talk to him! Stiles-!”

Isaac Lahey never said that he was an altruistic person, so when he told Derek that he would talk to a guy he knew about Derek’s secret admirer, he may have had an ulterior motive…

“Hey! Scott! Scott McCall!”

Scott spins where he’s standing, seemingly surprised that someone is calling him, before a grin splits his face at seeing Isaac heading his way. He’s pretty sure that Scott looks the exact same way at anyone that talks to him, but Isaac can’t help the warm feeling that settles in his chest as Scott focuses his entire attention on him.

“Hey, Isaac! What’s up? Having trouble in Mrs. Rosemary’s class again?”

Isaac fights off a blush as he remembers the last excuse that he used to spend some time with Scott, one that fell through rather spectacularly when he realized just how bad Scott was at algebra. He attempts to adopt a nonchalant pose as he asks, “Hey, you know your friend Stiles?”

The confused look on Scott’s face is adorable. “Yeah, but I didn’t know that you knew him…”

“You’d be surprised at what I know.” slips past Isaac’s lips, complete with a wink, before he can think about it. He’s nearly struck speechless by the red flush that blooms across Scott’s cheeks.

Isaac clears his throat hastily as he tries not to think about how far down that goes. He practically stumbles over his next question when he sees Scott give him a curious once-over.

“A-anyway, do you know if Stiles is seeing someone right now?”

Scott’s face goes from curious to apologetic so fast that Isaac is seriously worried that he pulled something.

The redness from earlier makes a comeback as he stammers, “Geez, I- I’m sorry, man, but Stiles kinda has his eye on someone? I- I mean, he’s kind of a one-person kind of guy, so even if you talked to him, I don’t think…”

It takes him a second to realize what Scott is implying. When he does, Isaac starts waving his hands in the air in front of him, trying to banish the thought of him and Stiles. “Good God, no! I was just asking for a friend of mine; Stiles has been watching the basketball games lately and Derek was hoping that he had been coming to see him play. The last thing I want to do is go out with Stiles!”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with Stiles! You would be lucky to go out with him!” Scott’s response makes Isaac want to grin, mainly because he sounds so indignant on his friend’s behalf. “I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine, but you don’t have to make it sound like- wait, did you say Derek? You don’t mean Derek Hale, do you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“This is perfect!” Scott nearly startles Isaac to death when he bounds forward to grasp Isaac’s hands between his own. “I was going to ask around if Derek was interested in Stiles, or even guys in general, and you just saved me the hassle! Oh my god, Stiles is going to be so happy about this! I knew he was worried over nothing!”

Either Scott is a few inches shorter than him, or Isaac’s just being pulled forward with every excited jerk that Scott gives, because it turns out that he’s a lot closer to Scott than he thought…

Scott takes advantage of their placement when he suddenly darts forward to plant a kiss on Isaac’s cheek and then runs off. He throws ‘I owe you big time for this!’ over his shoulder as he goes.

Isaac is drawn out of his stupor by the sound of a giggle behind him. It turns out to be Kira, one of Scott’s ex-girlfriends, and one of the few female lacrosse players that they have.

“Yeah, he does that a lot.” She dimples at him, making it easy to see how she and Scott remained friends after their break-up, and makes a motion to Scott’s retreating form. “You’ll have to talk to him about it if you want to make sure he knows how important the kissing is… but then again, maybe you two don’t have that kind of relationship and-”

“We don’t- I mean, Scott and I aren’t dating.”

Her grin slips into a look of embarrassment as she immediately starts to blurt, “Oh! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed- I just thought that since he kissed you- but that shouldn’t mean anything, and I shouldn’t just think because two guys kiss, or one guy kisses another guy, that it means-”

“No, it doesn’t.” Isaac’s retort makes Kira look like a kicked puppy. Isaac rolls his eyes with a sigh and clarifies, “I mean, just because I want to date Scott doesn’t mean that Scott wants to date me. He could’ve just been being friendly. Didn’t he ever kiss you on the cheek?”

Right after Isaac asks, he closes his eyes as he realizes just how stupid that sounded. He’s glad that he can’t see the look on Kira’s face, even though he can hear the skepticism in her tone.

“Well, yes, but we were dating… and I’ve never seen him kissing Stiles like that… I mean, it looked like he paused for a second before pulling away, and he was all red and-”

Isaac tries not to let his hope grow too much at Kira’s words, but it’s a little hard to do with each instance that she pulls up. Somehow she knows about Isaac’s attempt to get Scott to ‘teach’ him algebra, as well as Scott’s panic about not being good enough to help…

“Wait!” Kira’s eyes light up with a gleam that Isaac’s seen a few times in Erica’s eyes before, making him immediately tense up with worry as she waves to someone behind him. “I have an idea.”

Afraid to ask what that just might be, Isaac instead turns around to see who she was waving at…

His stomach drops when he sees the strawberry blonde hair and immaculate appearance of one Lydia Martin.

Chapter 3

Lydia Martin’s parties are legendary amongst the entirety of Beacon Hills High, from the freshmen to the teachers, and it’s only been since about sophomore year that Stiles has been invited to a few of them.

Half of him is sure he had only been invited because Scott dated Kira Yukimura and then Allison Argent. Both girls had been almost immediately drawn into Lydia’s social circle when they moved here within years of each other, and he had just been the annoying third (or would that be fourth?) wheel that had been invited out of pity.

Now, however, it seems like Lydia is going out of her way to invite him and it’s making him more than a little suspicious…

He tried talking to Scott about it, but his best bro was apparently freaking out about some sort of ‘humongous and life-changing’ revelation that he had, which ‘was going to ruin, like, three people’s lives!’ Thus, he was avoiding Stiles’ questions to freak out about his own problems whenever the two of them were hanging out.

So, Stiles decided that it was best to go straight to the source; there had been a few times when Jackson claimed Lydia had invited him to one of her soirees before the lot of them had become friends, only for him to show up and be utterly humiliated when Lydia hadn’t even known who he was.

He figured this way, there was less possibility of embarrassment on his end. At least he and Lydia were kinda friends now and she would at least try to make it seem like Stiles just ended up at the wrong party instead of asking if he was from the catering company she called…

“Let me get this straight…” Lydia raises a brow when he goes to make his normal 'not that I would know!' joke at that phrase, so he just decides to let that slide before continuing on with his original thought, “You are specifically inviting me, Stiles Stilinski: social outcast and recognized nerd, to one of your parties? Really?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?” Lydia hums, inspecting her nails for any flaws or chips in her polish. “You’ve become a lot more bearable after you stopped your obsession with me and actually talked to me like a person, instead of just some goddess on a pedestal.”

“How do you know that I’m not just secretly hoping that being your friend will lead to something more?”

One eyebrow perfectly arched, Lydia says derisively, “We both know you’re not that kind of person, nor are you stupid enough to think that would work. Besides, a little birdie told me you’ve finally cast your eye on someone else…”

“Where did you hear that?” Panicking for a second that Scott decided to blab to everyone about his crush on Derek, Stiles tries to calm his racing heart. Lydia gives him another frustrated look.

“Stiles, you and I both know that nothing at this school happens without me finding out.” Her look softens, and she moves forward to place a hand on his chest, effectively cutting off his panic before it starts to grow too much. “Let’s just say that I have a vested interested in making sure you come to this party. If you just stay for say… an hour and decide that you don’t want to be there any longer, then you can leave, and no one will think less of you.”

“I don’t really care what people think of me.” Stiles tries to joke, shuffling so that he can wrap an arm around Lydia’s shoulder in a quick hug before pulling away. “I just like knowing that you seem to want me to be happy strongly enough to try to sweettalk me into one of your parties, when it wasn’t all that big of a deal before.”

“Please, we both know I barely tolerate you.” Lydia quips with a flip of her hair, but Stiles can see the edge of a smile tugging at her lips. “So, does that mean you’ll go?”

Sighing dramatically, Stiles rolls his eyes. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“To go to the party? No, not really. Be glad I gave you a choice of whether or not you get to leave!”

Yet again, Stiles knows that Lydia’s words are more for show than anything else and that if he had made more of an argument, she would’ve let him off the hook. As it is, his curiosity is winning out over his reluctance, so he decides not to bring that bit of information up.

Squinting at him like she knows what he’s thinking, Stiles realizes that she’s waiting for a definite answer, so he sighs once more and mutters, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll come to your party. What time should I get there?”

“You know, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you disappointed to be going to one of my parties…” Stiles just gives Lydia a look, which earns him an eyeroll in return. “Whatever. Just make sure you’re there by six and try to wear something that doesn’t look like it came from a baby lumberjack’s bargain bin.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that plaid is very in right now!”

Giving him one more look that says he really isn’t the one to be throwing around fashion tips, Lydia simply turns on her heel and makes her way down the hallway, leaving Stiles feeling like he just made a huge mistake.

Maybe he should join Scott in freaking out now…

“Tell me why I’m here again?” Derek asks, trying to figure out if Erica really will run him down and drag him back by his ear if he bolts now. He never was a big party person, and he’s even more suspicious of this sudden invite to Lydia Martin’s Christmas bash.

“I told you already: Isaac said that he needed backup for something, and I told him I would bring you and Boyd along to make sure that he had enough muscle for whatever was going down.” Erica turns and pins Derek with a stare that rather uncomfortably reminds him of whenever Laura is pissed at him. “Are you saying you’d let Isaac deal with whatever is bothering him alone?”

“It’s more that this has to be the first time Isaac has ever actually asked for help before he needed it. It makes me wonder if this whole thing isn’t a setup.” Derek casts a look in Boyd’s direction in a desperate bid for help, but his best friend completely ignores him to check out the party around him, so Derek just sighs and follows the couple up the walkway to the front door. “Not to mention, he said just yesterday that he could deal with Jackson, so I don’t think-”

“Maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with Jackson, ever think of that?” Erica snaps, right as she gives a quick rat-tat-tat to the door in front of her.

Derek doesn’t have time to answer before the door opens and Lydia Martin’s eyes roam over the lot of them, seeming to linger on Derek for a moment longer than his friends, before she ushers them in with a smile that Derek does not trust.

There isn’t a chance to point this out to his friends, because they disappear almost as soon as they enter the house. It’s a feat in of itself, as the house isn’t that crowded to begin with, leaving Derek to navigate his way to the kitchen in the hopes that there is at least something decent to drink.

He doesn’t make it more than five steps before someone is bumping into him from behind and there’s a sudden blathering of, “Oh, my god. I am so sorry, dude! I didn’t get any of my drink on you, so you can just continue on to what you were do-”

The voice cuts off as soon as Derek turns around, but he can’t really blame him, as Derek himself is finding it a little hard to think of something to say.

The Bleachers Boy is standing in front of him.

There are a few moments of awkward silence before Bleachers Boy suddenly blurts out, “You’re even prettier up close!”

Derek blinks at that, cheeks heating as Bleacher Boy goes pale and hides his face in his hands.

“Oh. My. GOD. I can’t believe I said that! I was going to be way cooler than that when I first started talking to you and Scotty never got back to me on if you even liked guys, so I have no clue if you’re flattered or disgusted! Please don’t kick my ass if you’re disgusted, I really don’t want-”

“You’re really pretty up close, too.” Derek isn’t really sure why he said that, other than he wasn’t sure what Bleachers Boy was talking about, but it wasn’t like it was a lie; Bleacher Boy was pretty, with a lean body and mole speckled skin, as well as beautiful amber eyes, one of which was peering at him past hands that were slowly lowering from Bleacher Boy’s face.

(He really needed to find out this guy’s name soon, that mental name was kind of a mouthful and a little weird…)

“Um… thank you? I don’t know if you said that to be nice or not, but I appreciate you being nice about all of this instead of threatening to throw me into the lockers like a pinball-”

“Who told you that?” Derek demands, irrationally angry at the thought of someone harming this guy that he barely knows.

“Ummmmm…” There’s a slight hesitation before the guy speaks again, his eyes darting around like he isn’t sure if he wants to stick around anymore. “I’m not sure if I should tell you, considering you look like you’re about half a second away from ripping their throat out with your teeth?”

“I wouldn’t rip their throat out.” Derek waits a second, just enough for the guy to relax before stating, “Their tires, on the other hand…”

It startles a laugh from the guy, before he mutters something that sounds like ‘asshole would probably freak if someone touched his precious car’ before raising his voice. “It doesn’t matter… I’m Stiles, by the way. Stiles Stilinski. Which is not my real name, I promise. My parents actually liked me enough to give me a strong and meaningful name, which unfortunately is Polish and almost impossible for anyone to pronounce, hence the nickname.”

“I’m Derek. Derek Hale, and I was serious about before.” Derek is both utterly flabbergasted and delighted by Stiles-a name that Derek decides he likes after a moment of thought-and he’s thankful that he let Erica and Boyd drag him here, despite his complaints earlier.

He goes to look for them, after he makes a mental note to make sure to get Stiles’ number, so he knows where they are later, and isn’t surprised to see them making out in a corner of the room, either unknowing or uncaring of the people around them.

What does surprise him, however, is the fact that Isaac is also getting some action!

It takes him a second to recognize the person in Isaac’s lap, both because he doesn’t really need to see his best friends sucking on other people’s tongues and because Isaac’s hands keep getting in the way, and is that… Scott McCall?!?

“You… really meant that? That you thought I was pretty?”

Derek turns back to Stiles, a little thrown by his shocked tone, but the look on his face stops the words on Derek’s tongue. He’s surprised, yes, but there is also a slight blush there and the faintest glimmer of hope as well.

Screw just getting his number, by the end of this night, Derek’s getting a date too!

“Yeah, I really meant it.”

Stiles face absolutely lights up after that, but Derek’s favorite part is what he says next:

“So, Derek, have you ever been to Rosa’s?”

“Maybe, what do you have in mind?”

“Well, since it’s apparent that both of our friends have ditched us, apparently for each other… what do you say we get out of here and get to know each other?”

Derek grins, reaching out and placing a hand at the small of Stiles’ back to start guiding him to the door, reveling in the pleased expression that Stiles tries to hide at the action.

“Sounds like a date.”

[thegirlsinthefirehouse]

Descendants, Chapter 11

-----

“The sun, it burns ussss,” hissed Holtzmann, coming out of the sun and back into the fire station.

 She and Erin had gone out on a call at a thrift store that was having trouble with a cursed object that had been donated. It wouldn’t stop screaming. They had dealt with many of those in the past couple of years, but never so shrill. Erin’s ears still hadn’t stopped ringing.

“Now I know how you felt when the balloon popped in your ear,” said Erin loudly to Holtz.

“Yell it down a couple of notches Erin!” Holtz yelled back.

“What?” Erin said back loudly.

“Okay you two,” yelled Patty, walking up to the both of them. “How did it go?”

“Fine,” said Erin, leaning her left ear to Patty. It was the less ringing one. “Can you put this in our cursed items inventory? It’s clean.” She gave Patty a stone figurine of a ballerina.

“This was screaming?” asked the municipal historian.

“Loudly,” said Holtzmann. “And by clean, we don’t know if there are any curses on it. But we could touch it at least.”

“We should probably check it before we tag it and put it away,” said Patty.

“You and Abby can look it over for us while our hearing comes back,” said Erin, rubbing her ear and grimacing. “And Holtz needs to empty the trap.”

“I’m letting you get your wife out of the lab,” Patty said to Holtz. “She’s been in there working.”

“On what?” said Holtz. Patty shrugged.

“She’s sketching, all I know.”

“She must have thought of something,” said Holtz. She really needed to get the noise out of her ears and brain. She headed up the stairs to her lab. Abby was sitting at one of the tables with her earbuds in. Patty had been right, she was designing something new. While Holtzmann did most of the creative work, Abby sometimes had ideas that they had been working on together to bring to fruition, usually with Erin’s input once they had a roughed out concept. Although Holtzmann would rather her wife not be working in the lab, she was grateful to see she was wearing the apron and her radiation badges. She headed over to the containment unit, her ears still ringing, but less so. She stuck the trap in the machine and turned it on. She could barely hear the low roar, followed by the buzzing after a few minutes that let her know it was cleaned out.

Now that she was in the quiet of her lab and could only hear the low hum of her machines, she was starting to be able to hear somewhat normally again. She went over to Abby’s side and found a drawing she couldn’t quite understand at first. It was long and cylindrical, almost like the tall cans of soda and energy drinks they had started selling years ago. But there was a contraption inside of it that she was trying to follow. It was Abby’s annotation at the end that made her excited. She tapped Abby on the shoulder, who paused her music.

“This goes into the proton pack?”

Abby took out her earbuds and nodded.

“It’s risky, but I thought about it early this morning when I couldn’t go back to sleep. Short bursts of energy, like my glove. It could take out a lot of PK energy in one sweep instead of a steady drain.”

“This... I like this,” grinned Holtzmann. “I’m so turned on right now by your handiwork Abigail.”

Abby ignored Holtz’s tone. “If you could get this to work, this would be helpful in the field.”

“This is going to take a massive amount of energy though,” said Holtzmann, following Abby’s notes. “It would make the pack way, way too hot.”

“It’d need venting constantly,” said Abby. “It’s workable... maybe?”

“Oh, it’s workable alright,” said Holtz. She kissed Abby on the lips quickly before going over to pick up an extra pack that she had built for experimentation. It was the first one that was going to get the upgrade. She looked back at her wife.

“But what shall we call it?”

“I was thinking it sort of works like a dart,” said Abby. “Multiple darts hitting a target at once with the same intensity.”

Holtzmann smirked. “So a Boson Dart?”

“If that’s what you want to call it, then yes,” said Abby.

“I like how you think,” said Holtzmann, plopping the pack up on the table. She pushed down the goggles she had been wearing on top of her head.

“You up on your Slavic black magic?”

Abby thought about it for a moment. “Not since that brief stint in college.”

“Patty could use your help on the cursed object we brought back. It’s got some Russian text on the bottom. Erin--” “Good,” said Abby, not letting Holtzmann finish that thought. “I’m getting tired of this apron.” She got up, grimacing at how it had bunched up her shirt. When she went to straighten it, Holtz noticed something as she pushed on the cloth around her abdomen. She knew every curve on Abby’s body, and this was completely new.

“Whoa,” she said softly. She put down the screwdriver and went over to Abby’s side. She put a hand over Abby’s, stopping her from moving.

“You’re showing.” Holtzmann rubbed a hand down Abby’s middle. Her uterus was sticking up just enough to be noticeable just about at her navel, making a definite pooch that wasn’t there before. Holtz had to admit, she hadn’t expected to see anything for a few more weeks, so this was definitely a surprise.

“Been a day or two,” said Abby. She made a face. “I thought I was just bloated at first.”

“You need to gain weight,” said Holtzmann. “25-35 pounds. You’re still not eating enough.”

“You can do it for me,” said Abby, grimacing. “The eating and the gaining weight thing. I’ve already gained three pounds and I throw up practically everything I eat.”

“Next time around,” said Holtz. She laughed softly. “I can’t believe you’re showing.” She smiled happily at Abby, rubbing a hand over her tiny baby bump.

“I’d better get to Patty,” said Abby. Holtz looked up and realized Abby was blushing slightly.

“Abby?” she said. Her wife shook her head, smiling ruefully.

“It’s nothing. Sometimes I forget how love can be so big sometimes.”

Holtzmann grinned, but she made a mental note to ask Abby about it later. Right now she wanted to get to the pack design and she knew Abby would enjoy helping Patty find a reference to the cursed statue and why it had been screaming so loudly at them.

-----

“Shoes,” said Abby loudly towards the bathroom. Holtz came back towards their bedroom, toothbrush in hand, a little confused at her lover’s comment.

“Shoes?” Abby pointed down to her Chucks with a sigh. “They are too tight.” Holtz grimaced. “We’ll get you another pair Abs. You can’t help the ankle and feet swelling,” said Holtzmann.

“Yeah, but they’re like my security blanket,” Abby said with a grimace. “I need them.” Holtz had to stop herself from being annoyed at her wife. She was stalling, and Holtz couldn’t blame her for that. Today was the first real appointment with the obstetrician and Abby really didn’t want to go at all. It didn’t help that she had already been nauseated and throwing up since she had been awake. Breakfast had been an adventure.

“We’ll get you another pair of security blankets,” said Holtzmann, trying to be sympathetic. Abby had her moments of frustration for the engineer, but pregnancy hormones were a very real and short-term personality altering thing. Normally her wife was independent, fierce, and took shit from nobody. But the constant assurances and the fearful tears she had before the ultrasound were something Holtz hadn’t been expecting. It made her wonder what she really would have been like pregnant. She had quietly marveled at how Abby was holding together, even if she was being a little aggravating at the moment.

“I know,” said Abby quietly.

“Converse should be paying you to wear them anyways,” said Holtzmann, squeezing her hand and putting her toothbrush back in her mouth. “Seriously Abby, we need to look into product placement deals.”

The idea made Abby laugh, which was a blessing to Holtzmann’s ears.

“I see that going over with the city really well.”

“We should be getting better contracts,” said Holtz, waving her hand in the air. “I mean millions.”

“And what would we do with millions?” Abby said, pulling a pair of brown boots out of their closet and going over to the bed and putting them on. Holtz gestured to her chest.

“You could buy me that cute pregnancy t-shirt I showed you online that read: ‘She’s carrying the baby, I’m carrying the beer.’”

“In where? Your proton pack?” Abby interjected, straightening her clothes.

“A pack that carries beer,” said Holtzmann, looking starry-eyed. “That’s genius!”

“Very warm, slightly nuclear beer,” snorted Abby.

“The system needs more coolant anyways,” said Holtzmann. “I’ve been thinking too, Abs. We need to make a trap compartment so we all can carry one.”

“They could just strap on to the belts,” said Abby. “Like you were doing with the grenades.”

“And the PKE meters,” said Holtz. “That’s a good idea.” She started back towards the bathroom to finish her teeth.

“We’ve got to go, Abs or we’ll never catch the train.”

“Go get Patty to call her friends at the MTA,” said Abby. “Wait, I’ll go downstairs and find her.”

“Now I know you’re stalling,” said Holtz, groaning. She rinsed her toothbrush and mouth quickly and marched back over to the bedroom. “Abigail Leslie Yates, you--”

“Oooh, whole name. Someone’s in trouble,” said Erin, knocking on the open door. “Letting you know Patty and I are going on a call, then out to the cemetery that Patty wants to go look at that supposedly has some peculiar Gypsy graves. We’ll see you later for our weekly dinner, okay?”

Holtzmann took that moment to wrangle her wife by the collar of her shirt or Abby would have tried to follow Erin and Patty out on the call just to get out of going to her appointment.

-----

“I don’t think my body can take much more blood loss,” said Abby. “Just exactly how many tests are they running?”

“Enough,” said Holtzmann, reading a text from Patty. “Was it just me, or did the doctor seem a little confused when the nurse introduced us as Doctor Yates AND Doctor Holtzmann?”

Abby laughed at that while Holtz responded to Patty. She heard Abby sigh after a minute. She was behind a curtain getting changed. A physical exam was part of the process, and it wasn’t something Abby was looking forward to since it was slightly invasive.

Holtz had already made the joke earlier that morning that she could do that part and just tell the doctor, but they both knew that wouldn’t work. Abby came around the screen, the lower half of her body wrapped in a sheet, which delighted Holtzmann because her lover seemed so unsettled. She rubbed Abby’s arm, hopefully taking off some of the anxiety.

“At least the doctor is well qualified and is not judgemental.”

“That doesn’t make it much better Jills.”

“It’s necessary?”

“The whole thing’s just uncomfortable,” said the brunette, sitting back down on the exam table. She glared at the stirrups hanging down on the end.

“Again, it’s necessary. He’ll check to see to make sure nothing’s going to hinder the baby’s arrival, make sure there’s room to grow, and see if your cervix is nice and tight.”

“I know that, but does it help my nerves any?” said Abby.

“No, because a medical professional will be all up in your hoo-ha and it’s not even slightly erotic.”

“Yeah, the last guy who had his fingers up in there was trying to search for his heterosexuality and failed miserably,” grimaced Abby. Holtz looked perplexed.

“Wait, you dated a gay man?”

“Not at the time, no. He has since become a karaoke king at all the gay bars in Michigan, apparently. I know I’ve mentioned Reyland before.”

“I need to see this,” said Holtz, looking intrigued.

“You live in New York and see other members of the LGBT community every day,” said Abby, cocking her head sideways to look at Holtzmann. “New York Pride Parade next year, you can see thousands if you want.”

“Not the saaaaame,” said Holtz. “You dated him.” So you want to meet my exes now?” Abby said, shifting her legs so she could cross them at her ankles.

“Just curious to see in person those who came before me,” said Holtz, smirking.

“It’s a short, but varied list?”

“You know, I am still surprised Erin wasn’t on it.”

“I love her, but no.”

“I know you've said it before, but still. Why not? You two were close.”

“Erin... she’s.... Erin. We needed each other as friends. I think any further and the whole book thing would have been more explosive than it had been.”

“She burned the only two copies of your book, Abby. I don’t know how that could have gotten any more explosive. Or did it implode?”

“Both... really,” said Abby, thinking. “She was scared, I was furious she up and disappeared without a word. I became the laughingstock of the campus and I’m sure most of Ann Arbor. I didn’t care, obviously, but what hurt was that she didn’t care at all. About any of it. Including me.”

“Good thing it all changed,” said Holtzmann.

“I don’t know if it’s better or worse,” said Abby. She looked around the room. “Right now I’d say it’s worse.”

“That’s only because you’re about to be on your back and with your feet in those stirrups,” Holtzmann commented as the door swung back open, letting the nurse and the doctor back into the room.

“This is why I generally avoid physicians,” said Abby with a sigh in Holtz’s ear as the nurse directed for her to do just what Holtzmann had said. The blonde couldn’t help but grin as the nurse gushed over how cute they were holding hands. <– Prev | Next –>

[diddykongfan]

Forever AU, part 6. Why Colleen, you say, how are you getting them out this quickly after such a very long drought?  The answer is that if I don’t focus myself here then I’m gonna have that Belle/Hank AU spiral out of control and nobody asked for that (and yes, I do count myself as nobody, because I asked for that, but I need to stay strong and not do the thing). Also the stolen wallet subplot was literally a deus ex machina to have curse!Henry and curse!Jo run into each other and now I have to deal with including it, so like… Yes, I absolutely purposefully came up with a too-easy solution. Every time I tried to write what seemed like an actual investigation that could still lead to the suspects walking away that quickly (based on my understanding of them from crime shows and/or Murder, She Wrote), it came out sounding sloppy and halfway incompetent, which, you know…  No.  I’d rather I sound sloppy and halfway incompetent than write these characters that way.

It’s always a productive night at the Rabbit Hole when she ends up passing out on the floor at Jack’s apartment, after divvying up their cash intake for the night, because she’s absolutely exhausted from staying up so long.

Of course, usually when that happens, she gets more than two hours of sleep before someone knocks on the door, and maybe she’s still half-asleep when she throws her discarded heel at the source of the noise, but the announcement that it’s Sheriff Graham on the other side does wake her up.

Well, maybe she’s not awake, but she is…  Not falling back to sleep any time soon.

Jack answers the door – it’s his place, after all, and he’s closer anyway – but she gets up and follows.

(No honor among thieves, her dad always taught her – you look out for you and no one else, kid, or you’re gonna get burned – thing is, she’s there.  There’s no chance of sneaking out the fire escape or something. And if the Sheriff’s looking for Jack, there’s a good chance he’s looking for her, too, given how often their enterprises coincide.  She can look out for number one just fine without running, because running just looks worse in the long run.)

They’re very pointedly not under arrest, as all the Sheriff knows is rumors and hearsay and circumstances, but since they’re regular features at the Rabbit Hole could they, perhaps, come down to the Station to give statements?

No hint what the crime is, but then, it is an open investigation and even she can tell they’re suspects.  She wonders which drunkard pointed in their direction, because it sure as hell wasn’t the bartender.  He’s got a weirdly loyal streak towards her, which she doesn’t get, but which she will absolutely take advantage of as long as she can.

She’s already mentally calculating which of the town’s very few lawyers to call up if this goes any further than a friendly chat – Guerriero is in the lead, meek and kind of unassuming, not a shark like Gold or D.A. Spencer, but affordable – when, before the Sheriff can even speak to them, the Station’s phone rings.  When whoever’s on the other end is done, the man in front of them is pinching the bridge of his nose, looking for all the world the picture of exasperation.

Odd.

The Sheriff isn’t known for showing much emotion beyond a friendly smile.  Oh, there’s talk that he’s been different lately, and Jack had told her about the man getting drunk and upset at Granny’s just two nights ago.  His throwing a dart at Deputy Swan’s head to get her to pay attention had been all the gossip yesterday morning (and that’s probably the only reason Jack brought it up, but still).

“It turns out I don’t need those statements after all,” he sighs after a moment.  Well.  That’s- Whatever.

“Isn’t that good news, Sheriff?” she asks, smiling at him a little, “Not that you wasted your time, obviously, but that there wasn’t actually a crime, I’m guessing?”

He doesn’t smile back.  Just shakes his head slowly with a barely uttered “I suppose you’re right” that feels more like a dismissal than the actual dismissal had.

Again.  Whatever.  She needs sleep anyway.

And then, as they’re leaving– Deputy Swan is bringing in some guy that she’s maybe seen around town, or something, ‘cause he kind of looks familiar, she thinks, and he just stares at her and calls her Jo.

What.

She’s not sure why she acknowledges him, when she corrects him, tells him her name is Vera.  He’s nobody, right?

So why does she care if he knows her name?

…

“The ‘stolen’ wallet turned up under the seats of the cab,” Graham says, without preamble, once their guest is in the cells for processing and the two of them are in his office.  Emma winces.  She’d gone to the accident and then the docks, taking two of the calls instead of one, so that he could focus on going and interviewing their victim in person about the “theft” and then actually investigating it.  Having that be a waste of time feels a little like a slap in the face, and probably more so to him.

Best to move on to the next topic of business.

“According to Doctor Bellamy, her brakes failed and she couldn’t stop in time to not hit the guy on the bike,” Emma informs Graham, “Billy got out there with the tow truck to take her car into the shop, and he said he’d call if there was anything we should know.  Doc agreed to come down and fill out any paperwork on her lunch, but since she was already running late to see her patients, I let her go so she could work on rearranging anything that needed doing there. The bike was completely totaled. Billy took that, too, said he'd bring it down here as soon as we call for it.”

“And the victim?  Did anyone find them?”

“No. Except for the damage to the car, there was no trace whatsoever that anyone had been on the bike when the crash happened. What I’m wondering,” and she can’t believe she’s about to say this, because it may be the strangest sentence that has ever come out of her mouth, even since she started discussing Operation Cobra with Henry, “Is if our guest over there might be our crash victim.”

It doesn’t make sense in the way that she likes her world to; even allowing for what happened last night with Graham (and only allowing for that because she witnessed it), the odds of it happening to two different people in town in less than a day?  That has to be astronomical.

“He said he was riding his bike and then he was in the water with no idea how,” she adds, because it’s the entire reason she brings up the theory.  It’s the entire reason the theory even entered her mind.  After all, someone had to have been on that bike.  There’s a person-shaped dent in the hood of Doctor Bellamy’s car, even if there is currently no person to account for said dent.

“It’s possible,” Graham draws out the words, looks like he’s considering.  Glances out at their guest.  “I never heard of anyone else who could- It’s one of the laws of magic.  Dead is supposed to be…  She used to complain about it, in the old world, when she would go on tirades against Snow.  I heard enough to piece some things together.”

“But if one person can come back," namely Graham himself, "who’s to say that there aren’t others?” she sighs as she finishes his thought, follows his logic of how it’s possible.  Even if she is going to pointedly ignore the words laws of magic and old world and Snow.  For the moment, anyway. And while she’s asking questions, she supposes she might as well voice another.

“When we were on our way in, Vera and Jack were headed out.  He called her Jo.  Could it maybe be his memories from before-” Before the curse?  No, she still feels ridiculous saying that out loud.  Still feels like someone is going to pop up and say that it’s all some very elaborate joke and they fooled her every time she even considers admitting that there’s a curse (even if she does have to admit that dead bodies vanishing and then the person not being dead anymore is a very compelling reason to say that something very not normal is going on in Storybrooke).

“I don’t know,” he shakes his head, “I didn’t know many people, before, and neither of them were among the few I did.  I don’t see how it could be, though- I only remember because of you.”

Right. That Savior thing that hangs in the air, unspoken between them, but heavy on her head anyway because of Henry. Because if the curse is real, as Graham has said it is, if Henry is right, then she has the fate and identities of everyone in town riding on her. Including, potentially, her parents.

But no pressure, right?

"How did I make you remember, anyway?"

(No one else seems like they're changing all that much because of her. Oh, Mary Margaret is more self-confident, sometimes, but she still doesn't seem like she's remembering some sort of fairytale life or whatever. Knowing what happened with him may be important.)

He hesitates, she can tell. But it's brief before he very obviously decides to give in and answer.

"You know this world's fairytales," he starts, low, and she is confused, "They aren't right on much, but... You know- What the strongest method for breaking curses is considered to be?"

She bites her lip, thinking. He seems so nervous, to explain. She considers the tropes and plot devices that are so common in the stories that she used to read, before she gave up on believing in magic and happy endings, the stories that Henry has been going on about since she met him.

There's one thing her mind lands on, but- No. It can't be that. Can it?

"You know what happened between us before I got my memories back."

And now she sees the reason behind his hesitation, the reason he does not name the cause he has identified himself, edges around it and lets her make the conclusion. He knows her enough to know that the very idea of True Love's Kiss is something that might make her run away.

(Such a definite, optimistic term for something that has just barely begun to blossom between them. It's too soon, and she knows that he knows she would feel that way. But he- Clearly, he doesn't want to lie to her, tell her he has no idea what it is that caused his memories to break through. She's not sure which aspect of his telling her that she appreciates more - his consideration towards her discomfort in the very idea, or his deciding not to even try and lie.)

“But it didn’t break the whole curse,” she shakes her head, and, yes, maybe she did finally say the word. Still doesn’t mean she doesn’t have her doubts.

“No,” he agrees, “It didn’t.”

“Why not?”

(She’s fairly certain that she can’t just…  Go around and kiss everyone in town’s memories back.  She doesn’t care about them the way she does him- Even if love is a stronger word than she would use, just yet.)

“I don’t know. I’m no expert in magic, by any means.”

(Who is, though? Most of the people supposedly have no memories, and therefore even if they were experts in magic before, won’t be now. Even under the assumption that it’s all true, that only leaves room for Regina to know and be an expert, and even if Emma was willing to ask her – which she’s not – there’s no way that the “Evil Queen” would be willing to answer. It’s her curse to protect, after all. Gold, maybe, he always seems like he knows something, like the world is a big inside joke to him. But she already owes him one favor and she’s not eager to accumulate more.)

Atop the desk, she lets her fingers twine with his. She’s scared, yes. And it’s frustrating to have more questions than answers – and frustrating that the one answer she’s been given is the one that scares her more than anything else that’s happened. But she does care about him, and she cares about Henry, and with those two sureties, she’s willing to try and figure something out.