#sorry for promoting stuff so much i got locked out of my card

[ruerock]

reminder that i have discounted adopts available on my ko-fi store!! :3

[tvsoftboi]

Alrighty, time to suck it up and share some headcanons for Cultist Sim and (to a lesser degree) Book of Hours! Warning, this might be kinda on the long side, heh, even if I don't have much to share...

For context, these aren't like, interpretations of the Cultist/Legacies or the Librarian as how they're shown in game. I've seen much better readings on the quality of the character of the, well, player character, heh. I wouldn't really consider this all "AU" stuff either? It's more just, the stories or interpretations I came up with during my own playthroughs! (With that in mind, there are a few Legacies I haven't finished, and I've barely begun scraping the surface of BoH, but I promise to try and get around to things when/where I can!)

Feel free to ask questions either here or through Asks, I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on things, give me a chance to expand on my own stories/whatever!

Base Legacies:

I don't really have too much for the base game's legacies, it's mostly because I haven't played them in so long, I might need a refresher to actually come up with anything more than how I Ascended them and a bare-bones "why?" Sorry they don't have much in the ways of solid stories...

- The Aspirant: I decided he would Ascend through Forge, as one of the only Legacies that doesn't stumble his way into occultism, instead purposefully searching it out, it feels like this little wretch would be perfectly comfortable with a "might makes right" approach, and a justification for any sacrifices that might need to be made.

- Bright Young Thing: For me, the BYT's rich/lavish lifestyle felt right at home for falling prey to Grail. She already indulges her impulses, living life on a whim, so why not take it to an extreme? If life's already practically been handed to her on a silver platter, it felt only right that she'd eventually find comfort engaging in the stranger vices.

- The Physician: This one felt like they'd fit in pursuing a Lantern path. Someone scholarly, (I'd imagine) often involved the endings and beginnings of life, who couldn't help but record the ramblings of one of their final patients. Driven by curiosity's sake, and the tug of the call of "invisible lights," he'd explore and study and learn as much about this invisible new world as they could, taking it as far as they can.

- The Detective: My headcanon for the Detective isn't too exciting, but I think it's a little sweet. Personally, I'd like to believe it and its mundane/minor victory (Ambition's Tide) follow the actions of our (or at least my) boy Douglas (aka the Weary Detective). We're going to absolutely ignore that he is the first/default Hunter, one that you can technically even get as the Detective, if you produce any reputation cards. I like to place this after the first three Legacies and their corresponding Apostle runs. Imagining that the cults probably disbanded with their leader(s) in the Mansus and the Apostle(s) also having gone off and done their things (depending on the actions of the Cultist, the number of followers may have dwindled a bit too, due to sacrifices or "necessary casualties." So, because of all that, Douglas is essentially just finally able to nab a ne'er-do-well, and get the promotion/retirement he deserves. Maybe he finally has a chance to spend time with the spouse and kids (if he has any) ^-^

- The Apostles: I'm grouping these three together, because I haven't actually played them yet, so I don't know their stories, and because of that, I don't have anything to really expand on…

DLC Legacies:

- The Priest: Like the Apostles, I haven't played them either... All I've really got is that scars are associated with certain Aspects (Edge, Knock, and Winter) so... Transmasc Priest with two of his/their Lock-Scars being top surgery scars? Idk, it's really not much...

- The Exile: We'll get back to him once I finish playing the Exile Legacy and Book of Hours as the Executioner. It'll make sense, I promise! ;)

Now, these next two get special attention because I love them so much, for no good reason lmao. Firstly, I've decided these two are siblings (maybe twins? I like it thematically but also I think it'd maybe make more sense for the Dancer to be the older sibling? I'm not sure!) who were separated at a young age.

- The Dancer: She (Lyra, in my game, heh) is absolutely trans, in my mind! The themes of change and shedding your old form really has trans undertones to me, heh. In my mind, the Dancer has been running from her old self and life for years now. A trans youth, rejected by their parents, forced to eke out an existence as best they can, I could see it making sense that she finds her way towards dancing for clubs. Stuck in an unpleasant/unfulfilling life, she'd be intrigued by Sulochana's tempting offer of change. Follow along down the balance ending, falling into service of the Meniscate by being too balanced between change and eternity. (I still need to work on why she specifically goes down balance, rather than pure Moth or Heart...)

- The Medium: The Dancer's sister on the other hand, is Elise, the Painter, the Medium, and the Ghoul. Now, I know that "painter," isn't technically one of her titles, but with how the route ends, and the personal challenge I set for myself, I think it's fitting! (context: I went to the trouble of painting every masterpiece, and only ever summoned spirits by using paintings, since I thought it was cool if she painted these otherworldly beings into the world.) Now, Elise's motivation for falling into occult trappings is two fold: she wants to find her sibling and she's a disaster lesbian. Starting with the queerness first, I think the Medium is an absolutely silly, pathetic, wet cat lesbian. Her interactions with Miss Naenia, especially when sharing a joyful memory, just feels so very gay lol. And I think this does lead into her other reason, whether there's any truth to it when she says it, Miss Naenia promises she can, in a way, help the siblings reunite. The Medium remembers her sibling, but not well. She remembers their parents anger, driving her sibling to run away, but not why. She can barely remember their face, they were so young and the details blur... She wants to remember. To find them. It's an itch at the back of her mind, a want to not be herself alone. Unrelated to her motivation, but I think my Medium specifically was very prone to illness as a child. Sickly, and pale in the way of one who has not or chooses not to see the Sun, she was probably kept confined to her room for most of her childhood, meaning she wouldn't have known exactly what her parents were angry about, or why she can't remember whether she had a brother or sister. For occult stuffs, the Tower of Doves cult felt fitting, being dedicated to "what is lost and may yet return." Maybe the Medium hopes to paint her sibling back to her? I'd also like to imagine she avoids sending her strange and creepy women "who are silent" to murder anybody, (because I had that as another challenge, and) Elise/my Medium didn't feel like a malicious soul. She doesn't want to have to eat the dead unless she absolutely has to, and there are graveyards and ruin scraps for that. (I've got nothing for eating a Decrepitude or King Crucible though, vore I guess lol) By the end of the run she will wander the Mansus, remembering the forgotten Hours, and she will not end before her time. And perhaps, one day, she will find her sibling.

Now, I realize there's maybe some unintentional parallels to the Witch-and-the-Sister and the Sister-and-the-Witch. I didn't intend for the siblings to be one soul as two/two who are one, or anything like that, but I don't hate the idea either? (Also, very sorry if these aren't actually all that interesting, or if this clutters/takes away from actual posts more relevant to the game...)

[sundaysundaes]

Whispers

Lee Donghyuck/Haechan X Reader | Smut, Fluff | 5k | Idol AU

Summary: Donghyuck has been busy promoting his new album and no matter how much he misses you, he can’t see you in person due to his schedules. Desperate for your touch, he begins to call you late at night.

Warnings: Phone sex, masturbation (male and female), dirty talk (but is it still called ‘dirty talk’ if Donghyuck is just being honest and saying whatever that comes to his mind?), no plot with a lot of dialogues

The vibration of your iPhone wakes you up from your dream. Being thrown back so suddenly to reality makes you feel slightly lightheaded but it’s all worth it the second you see his name written on your screen. Rubbing your eyes away from sleep, you answer his call, “Hyuck?”

“Hey, Noona.” The airiness of his honeyed voice sounds familiar and pleasant in your ears that it instantly paints a smile on your face. “Did I wake you?”

You refrain yourself from yawning. “Yeah, I fell asleep reading.” Narrowing your eyes irritatedly at the brightness of the fluorescent light hanging on your ceiling, you decide to switch it off and uses the dim glow of the bedside lamp instead.

“What time is it?” He gasps when he notices the time on his screen. “Three AM?! Shit, I didn’t realize it was this late. Sorry.” 

“It’s fine, I shouldn’t be sleeping anyway. I still have to work on my papers, so it’s actually good that you woke me up.” You nuzzle close to the pillow, holding your phone to your ear with one hand, blinking sleepily. “Did you just get back from schedule?”

“Yeah.” He sighs wearily. “I’m dead tired right now. I wish I could just take a day off, you know? I mean, performing is fun, but promoting a new album can be so hectic. I’ve only been sleeping for, like, two hours per day since last week.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You bring the teddy bear he’d given you on your birthday close to your chest, pretending like you were embracing him. “I wish you could take some days off, too.”

“Yeah?” Somehow, he sounds like he’s smiling. “Then do what?”

“I don’t know, play games, I guess? Or just lie around in bed, doing nothing.”

“I’d rather be doing something, actually.” He chuckles softly, a hint of teasing in his voice. “Or someone.” 

“Gross,” you retort but you can feel your lips curving upwards. “It’s okay if you want to rest, Hyuck. You don’t have to force yourself to call me every day. Your health should be your number one priority.”

“What, you don’t want me to call you?”

You freeze. “Of course I want you to call me. I just—”

“I thought you’d be excited to hear my voice.”

The sudden bitterness in his tone makes you sit up from the bed, eyebrows adjoined in confusion. “What—Hyuck—”

“You know what?” He exhales loudly. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have called. It’s late anyway.“

“Can you please just listen—”

“I’m tired. Let’s just talk tomorrow.”

“But—”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Hyuck—” But you’re only answered by silence when the line gets disconnected. You stare at your phone, eyes wide in disbelief. 

What the hell just happened?

Upset and vexed, you dial his number. You wait with your jaw clenched until he picks up on the fourth ring. “Can’t you listen to me for one second?!” Not sure if it’s because of the drowsiness or exhaustion, but you find yourself shouting even before he says anything. “Of course, I want you to call me, you idiot! It’s the only thing I’ve been waiting all day. Every day, Hyuck, I wait for your call every day. I keep catching myself checking on my phone every ten minutes, waiting for your texts, wanting to call you. I miss you, of course, I miss you—you’re—” You turn stiff when you hear him cackling from the other side of the phone. “Are you laughing?”

“I’m sorry.” His laughter is contagious but you put up your best effort not to get infected. “You’re so cute when you get all riled up. Isn’t it obvious that I was just joking?”

“Right. I’m hanging up.” 

“Wait, Noona—” You listen to him with your eyes throwing ice daggers to the wall. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise.” There’s a small pause where you’re too irritated to talk and he’s too unsure to start but he tries. “So, like… you miss me?”

“Not right now.”

“Aaw, come on, I was just messing around.” You can imagine him puckering his lips, batting his eyelashes for forgiveness. “Please, tell me. Tell me how much you miss me.”

You throw yourself back to the bed, huffing. “I don’t think I want to.”

“You get cuter when you’re angry, you know that?” He sighs to the air. “Aaah… I miss you. I miss you so much, Noona, you don’t even know. Probably more than you miss me.”

I don’t think that’s possible. “Of course,” you reply, holding back a smile from breaking on your face. “Since I only miss you a little bit.”

“A little bit?”

“A tiny, tiny bit. On second thought, maybe I don’t miss you at all.”

“Is that so?” You can tell he’s exhausted by the way he lets out his chuckle, but it doesn’t mean it’s less sincere. “It really has been a while since we last saw each other, hasn’t it?”

You nod to yourself. “Four months.”

“You keep count, huh?” His teasing tone makes you flushed. “Love me that much, do you?”

“Around four months,” you correct him, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible when the truth is, you can practically hear your heart hammering against your ribcages. “Or maybe three? Five? I don’t know.”

“Why are you so cute? Seriously, how can you be this cute?” Donghyuck sits on the edge of his bed, lips forming so widely that it nearly splits his face in half. When his chuckles have receded, his eyes begin to soften. “I love you, Noona. You know that, right?”

People might be thinking about how lucky you are to have a member of one of the most prestigious boybands in the world confessing his love for you at 3 AM, but honestly? You’re just so grateful for the fact that Lee Donghyuck, a boy who stole your heart nearly a decade ago when you were too young to even understand the word love, finally realized that your entire relationship with him was deeper than a mere friendship. It took years for both of you to finally gain enough bravery to act out your feelings, especially when he managed to shine brighter than you could ever imagine being. You were afraid of it—afraid that you would be burnt by his fame, afraid that he would discard you for he had everything and you only had him. But Donghyuck didn’t want anything. He only wanted you.

You love him. You’ve been loving him for as long as you can remember so hearing him say the words, no matter how often he has mentioned it already, still sparks fire through your veins. You’ll never admit that out loud, though.

“I’ve been thinking about you a lot these days,” he sheepishly adds. 

“More than you think about yourself?” You snort. “I’m shocked.”

“Eeyyy, I’m serious.” The sound of your giggle makes him sigh, longing to hear it in person. “I wish I could be with you right now. I thought about you a lot during today’s photoshoot too.” He lies down on the bed, running a hand through his hair. “I thought about our last date. About that red dress you wore. Man, you looked so cute in that dress.”

You half-buried your face in the pillow, heat blossoming on your cheeks. “Now this is the topic I like to talk about.”

Donghyuck scrunches up his nose. “Aren’t you gonna say I looked nice too that day?”

Even the slightest thought of him—any version of him, whether it was him dressing handsomely on a date or him waking up in the morning with a bird’s nest on his head—never fails to send butterflies swirling in your stomach, but again, you’ll never admit that out loud. “Meh,” you jeer, even adding a shrug when you know he won’t be able to see. “Could’ve dressed better. I mean, ripped jeans? Really?”

“Yah, yah, yah. You said I looked good wearing those jeans!”

“We were going to a fancy restaurant and I wore a semi-formal dress, Hyuck. They just didn’t match my outfit. They didn’t match anyone’s outfit there, really.”

“Really? You’re gonna say that? Even after you spent the whole night stealing glances at me with drool on your face?”

You wish you could say he was lying, but you indeed spent the entire night drooling at him over the sight of his black leather jacket and the way his jeans just wrapped his thighs so perfectly. “I have lost interest in this topic.” It’s for the best before you combust into flames. “Where are you right now?”

“Back at the dorm.” He softly yawns. “In my room.”

“Alone?”

“Yep, since Johnny-hyung is filming out of town.” When you stay quiet, unsure of what to say, Donghyuck grins mischievously. “Why, do you wanna sneak in? I think I can afford to lose some sleep tonight, if you know what I mean.”

Flustered, you retort, “After Johnny caught us cuddling last time? No way.”

“Yeah, about that,” Donghyuck says a little awkwardly, “After you went home he said to me that he heard the whole thing—”

“What do you mean the whole thing?” The horror in your face and your voice is clear.

“I meant, the whole thing. Us having sex and stuff.”

You could practically feel the exact moment when your soul is leaving your body, but Donghyuck continues as if he’s simply talking about getting caught cheating during a test. “But it’s okay, he’s cool. He’s got my back.”

“Oh my God.” You nearly faint. “I will never show my face in front of your roommate, ever again.”

“Yeah, about that—“

“Are you fucking kidding me, Hyuck—”

“Jaehyun-hyung heard us too.”

“What?!”

“And he told Mark-hyung about it later on, and that’s the reason why I had this bump on my head for three days.” Donghyuck pouts, rubbing the back of his head, lean fingers carding through soft brown locks. “He hit me with a book, lecturing me about bringing you to the dorm as if he never did that himself.”

Not trying to overreact about it, but you’re suffocating by this point. “Why are you so chill about this?!”

“They heard us having sex, not murdering the innocents.” He rolls his eyes but seems amused at your reaction. “To be honest, I hear a lot of stuff happening in our dorm that I’m sure you don’t wanna know. Like, a lot a lot. Way worse than what I did with you.”

“And does Taeyong know about this?”

“Taeyong-hyung needs his beauty sleep so we agreed not to tell him stuff.”

“I feel sorry for him.”

“I just feel sorry he’s not part of our antics.” Donghyuck shrugs, kicking off his shoes and socks before he leans against the headboard. “How about you? Are you alone?”

“Yeah.” You heavily sigh, still feeling quite dizzy after hearing the truth he just blurted out. “My roommate’s gone for the weekend.”

“Oh…” He taps his fingers against his stomach, a weird feeling swirling inside his chest as a thought begins to form. “That’s… great…”

Donghyuck’s tongue lays heavy in his mouth, suddenly loses the ability to form a simple conversation as his mind begins to focus entirely on something else. It all started that one night when he pretended to be asleep, when in fact, he was listening to his roommate, Johnny, speaking to his girlfriend in hushed whispers. The way the older man was chuckling to his phone was suspicious, and the more he tried to listen intently, the more he realized that Johnny wasn’t conversing. He was giving orders with a voice thick with seduction. The sensual words Johnny used made Donghyuck’s ears turn scarlet, and he buried his face deeper behind his blanket. Since then, the curiosity within him has been rising more and more, nearly suffocating him sometimes when he desperately yearned for your touch but his schedule never let him take a goddamn break.

Not knowing the dirty thoughts that flit across his mind, you carry on your conversation like usual. “I guess, but it does get lonely sometimes when she’s not around. I actually like having a roommate.” The sandalwood aroma from your diffuser, combined with his velvety voice, comforts you and you’re finally able to relax. “Have you been eating well? I’ve been craving for strawberry—” 

“What are you wearing?”

“—pancakes—what?”

“I…” Donghyuck heaves out a heavy breath, biting the corner of his lip, unsure yet not ready to give up on his desire. “I just… I was wondering—Are you wearing pajamas?”

“Umm…” The way he asks about it sends heat rising to your cheeks. He doesn’t sound as innocent as the words he uses. You look down, fingers curling at the hemline of your clothes. “I’m wearing one of your shirts, actually.”

Donghyuck throws his head back, eyes tightly shut as he curses silently into the air, his phone pressed against his chest. The sight of you wearing his oversized shirt has been one of his most recurring fantasies and not being able to see you, but knowing that you are wearing his shirt, kills him. 

“Hyuck?”

Donghyuck brings his phone back to his ear. “Sorry, there was a… Mark.” He mentally slaps himself on the head. 

“There was a Mark?”

“I mean, Mark-hyung was here—but he just left so—" 

“Are you drunk again?”

“No!” Donghyuck rubs his temple. This is not going well, he shouts in his mind. “Why—” He winces when he hears his voice crack. Clearing his throat, he tries again. “Why are you wearing my shirt?”

Because it smells like you and it helps me sleep better. “Just because,” you quietly mumble, eyes locked to the ceiling. “Why are you asking me this exactly?”

“Just because,” he mimics. His breathing sounds more prominent as if he’s in the same room, only a few inches away from your ear. It’s the reason why you enjoy talking to him this way instead of taking video calls. You can focus solely on his honeyed voice, almost like a lullaby to your ears. “Can you tell me…” he continues, laced with both hesitation and anticipation, “What else you're wearing?”

“Umm…” You take a deep breath, trying to keep yourself composed. “I don’t think I want to say.”

“Please, Noona.” The sudden desperation in his plead startles you as if he’s losing control of himself, little by little. He seems to notice that too because when he speaks again, it’s steadier, almost formal. “I just… I want to know. If that’s okay.”

“Well…” You curl your toes. “Aside from your shirt, I’m…” Just say it, for God’s sake. He’s your boyfriend. He’s seen you naked. “I’m only wearing my panties.”

There’s a pause that makes your heart thump. “Not, uhh…” Donghyuck wets his lip. “Not even a bra?”

You fiddle with your fingers. “N-no.”

“Fuck.”

You nearly drop your phone. The guttural groan he just emitted from the back of his throat catches you off guard. “Hyuck..?”

“Noona, there’s—” Donghyuck sits up straight, nails nearly sinking to his jean-clad thigh. “There’s something I want to try.” There’s a sense of urgency mixed with minimum self-control. “I-if you don’t mind…”

You know where this is going. “What is it?”

“Just—Just follow my lead, okay?”

You shakily nod your head. When he calls out your name again, you remember that you have to say it in words. “Okay.”

“Can you…” Donghyuck’s heart is beating out of control.  His mind desperately tries to answer how the fuck do I start this?! “Can you, umm, lie down on the bed for me?”

You can tell he’s nervous and it’s both reassuring and endearing to know that he’s never done this with anyone else before and probably not mentally ready to do it with you, but tries to go all the way because he knows both of you need to find a way to release all of these pent-up emotions. 

You follow his order. “I’m…” You take a deep breath so your voice won’t tremble too much. “I’m lying on my bed.”

Donghyuck always takes a few seconds before answering, as if he’s battling inside his head as he tries to sort out his thoughts. “Is your light turned on?”

“Yes.”

“Turn it off.”

You switch off the button on your bedside lamp. “Okay, it’s off.”

“Okay, mine too.” Then all you can hear is his slightly ragged breathing. “It’s… a bit awkward, isn’t it?” He chuckles nervously, followed by an inaudible, “Fuck, why am I so nervous,” as he’s straying away from the phone. 

A smile paints your lips. “You’re adorable.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” 

When silence strikes, Donghyuck scratches his cheek. “Do you… want to know what I’m wearing?”

You gulp. “S-sure.”

“Well…” Donghyuck takes a look at himself. “I’m wearing a denim jacket, a white shirt, a pair of jeans—I just got back from a photoshoot so—”

So he must look good. “Take them off.”

He’s probably as startled as you are when you hear the words tumbling down your mouth. But even if he is as embarrassed as you are, he doesn’t make it as obvious. “Sure.” A rustling sound can be heard, and you let your imagination wander. You can tell he’s taking off his jacket and soon, his shirt will follow. Donghyuck would always take his shirt off by grabbing the fabric from the back and yank it over his head, instead of crossing his arms at his waist. There’s something masculine about it, but you tend to get more distracted at the way his muscles would contract in his lean stomach. His silver necklace would dangle around his neck, and he’d smirk whenever he caught you staring at him for a second too long. 

“My shirt’s off,” he quietly states, snapping you out of your reverie. “Now take yours off—wait! Wait. Leave it on. I want to imagine you wearing my shirt. Just take off your panties.”

“I’m—” It’s so damn hard to focus when you feel so ashamed just by hearing his instructions. “Okay…” Your fingers are quivering when they slide down your stomach, thumb hooking around the hem before you pull your lingerie down to the middle of your thighs.

“Lie down,” he whispers, “Prop a pillow behind your back. Are you comfortable?”

“Y-yeah, just…” You sigh, head going dizzy. “Embarrassed.”

The airy laughter that flows from his mouth is too innocent to be heard in this kind of situation. “So cute. Me too, actually. I’ve never done this before.” When his chuckles have receded, the nervousness grows vivid in his voice once again. “Do you, umm... Do you want to stop?”

You’re supposed to say yes, or at least a bit conflicted about it, so it shocks you when you immediately answer, “No,” without hesitation.

“Thank God.” Donghyuck sighs, smiling softly against the phone. “‘Cause I wouldn’t know what to do if you said yes.” He unbuckles his belt with one hand, taking it off as his heartbeat soars through the roof. “Then, umm… can you spread your legs? As wide as you can.”

You feel so exposed even when no one is looking. Following his guidance, you question, “What about you? What are you doing?”

“I’m…” Donghyuck swallows hard, looking down at the way his hand is pressing against his semi-hardness. “I’m rubbing myself over my pants.”

Fuck, you mentally groan. “Why aren’t you touching yourself directly?”

“Cause I want to wait for you.” He has his eyes closed, hand slipping under the hemline of his jeans, stroking himself over his boxer. “I want to picture you rubbing your fingers on your clit. I want to hear you moan my name when you do.”

Oh my God. “Then guide me,” you plead. There’s something so irresistibly sexy about him touching himself while picturing you pleasuring yourself with your fingers. “Tell me what to do, Hyuck.”

He runs his tongue over his lower lip. The excitement of being able to act as a puppeteer, tugging on your strings, sends all blood rushing south. “Can you push your shirt up? Don’t take it off, just—” He exhales, taking a moment to collect himself after a certain obscene thought of you touching yourself entered his mind. “Just make sure it’s not in the way.”

“Okay.” You grip the hemline of your shirt, pulling it up until it pools above your chest. “Now, what?” 

“I want you to touch your breasts.” You’re more aroused by his breathy voice and lustful tone than embarrassed at this point. “Imagine me, Noona,” Donghyuck whispers, and he sounds so close, as if he’s lying down next to you. “Imagine me with my hands on you, caressing your breasts. Can you do that?”

You squeeze your breast, mumbling out a weak, “Yes…” The memory of Donghyuck, embracing you from behind, his naked chest pressed against your spine, hot mouth lazily pressing wet kisses against your nape suddenly comes alive in your mind. You still remember how sexy he sounded moaning out your name as he rocked his hips forward, his fingers exploring around your chest, rubbing and pinching at a certain spot to make you press closer to him in desperation for more of his touch. 

“Suck on your fingers, make them wet, then bring them back down.” Donghyuck’s hips are bucking against his hand, his fingers tugging his zipper down. “Imagine my mouth latching on your nipple, sucking it the way I always do. The way you like me to do.” 

You bring your fingers to your mouth, coating two of them with saliva before you bring them back down to pinch your sensitive bud. With your eyes closed and his heavy breathing in your ear, the wet sensation of your fingers gives you a clear image of his tongue flicking against your nub. 

“Tell me how you feel.”

“It’s not enough,” you croak out, “I want to feel you directly on my skin.”

Donghyuck takes a sharp breath. “You don’t even know how much I want to be there and touch you.” The way his voice suddenly becomes deep sends shivers down your spine. “I want to suck bruises on your skin. I want to mark you everywhere, again and again, so the bruises will last for days. I want you to remember me every time you see yourself in the mirror.”

You sheepishly smile, though your heart is still racing. “I always remember you even without that, Haechannie.”

The sudden change of his name warms his heart. “I wish you’re the only one who calls me that. You make my stage name sounds better, special. I could have thousands of people screaming my name but none of them makes me feel the way you do.” As he slides his hand under his boxer, finally making direct contact with his skin, Donghyuck becomes desperate once again. “Bring your other hand down. I want you to touch yourself, Noona, please.”

You slide your hand between your legs, tentatively rubbing yourself between your folds. “Hyuck…”

“Does it feel good?”

You nod, eyes shut, and your mind wanders. “Yes…”

“Rub your clit for me. And imagine I’m doing that with my tongue.”

You can picture him with his head between your legs so perfectly behind your closed eyelids. He has done it several times and you remember how he would always start slow, placing open-mouthed kisses on the inner part of your thigh before dipping his head down and swipe his tongue along your folds—all the while never breaking eye-contact. He would press a kiss against your clit, and lick you slowly because he’d want you to beg for it. He never directly told you but you could tell he liked being in control because the second you whispered “Please, Hyuck,” he would immediately indulge you with everything you wanted and more. 

Donghyuck would suck hard on your clit, doing it so suddenly that you’d nearly crush him by wrapping your legs too tightly around his head. Amazed and delighted by your reaction, he would break into a smile with his tongue still darting out to taste you, mouth pressing harder against your skin until he plunged his tongue inside your heat.

You moan out his name at the memory, directly to the phone.

“Fuck, baby, you sound so perfect…” Donghyuck nearly whimpers and the word baby stirs something within you as he never called you that before.

“Call me like that again…” You rub yourself harder on the spot you like the most. “Please, Hyuck…”

“Baby…” Donghyuck’s fingers are curling harder around his length, pumping himself in accordance to every gasp and moan you’re emitting. “I wish I could see you—I wish I could lock my eyes with yours as I eat you up. I want to see your face, every single expression you make—I bet you look so cute, so goddamn... erotic.”

Your hold around your phone loosens but fortunately for you, the pillow pressing against it keeps it close to your ear. “Touch yourself,” you breathily murmurs, “I want you to touch yourself too.”

“I am, baby,” Donghyuck softly moans, his fingers tightening around his length. “What else do you want me to do?”

“I want you to stroke yourself harder and run your thumb over your slit.” Donghyuck zealously follows, cursing under his breath at the pleasure. “And I want you to keep doing it until my name escapes your lips.”

“God, I want you.” He repeats your name over and over again, as ordered, with him stroking himself faster each time. “Noona, I want your mouth on me. I want to see you hollow your cheeks around me—like how you did to me when we were backstage, that time after the concert. You looked so pretty that night, so eager—so desperate for me—”

“Me too. I want to make you feel good too. I—” You nip at your bottom lip, feeling goosebumps creeping up your skin when he moans out your name. You’ve always loved his voice, loved it more than anything else in the world, and the sounds he makes when he’s in bed with you is the sexiest thing that even your poor mind can’t even begin to imagine. And now, focusing solely on his voice, listening to his filthy, sinful words, he’s driving you to the edge of your sanity.

“I’ve touched myself before at the thought of you,” he confesses breathlessly, “Several times, even way before we started dating.”

You’re trembling at the thought. “Haechannie—”

“You don’t know just how much—” The sound of him trying to stifle down a moan only makes you crave for him more. “—how much I wanted you back then. How much I want you now. Even during high school, I just—I wanted you—wanted to touch you—wanted—ah fuck,” a whine slipped out his lips, “Wanted to hold you so bad, to make love to you until—”

At the rustling sounds, him whimpering at his touches, and you rubbing yourself on the perfect spot, you know you won’t last long. “H-Hyuck, are you close?”

“Just a little bit more, Noona, ah—” He thrashes his head against the pillow, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallows hard. “Fuck, I need to be inside you. I need to feel you clenching your walls around me.” At the memory of you gazing at him with anticipation building inside your seductive, half-lidded eyes, as you parted your legs to give him permission to ravish you the way he wanted, Donghyuck quickens the pace, thrusting vigorously into his hand. “Fuck yourself with your fingers, baby, please.”

You’re more than keen to follow, inserting one digit inside your heat with another one following soon after. You can visualize him bringing your legs in the air until they dangle over his shoulders, his hips slamming hard against yours with each thrust. “Hyuck—”

“If you were here right now,” he nearly growls, “I would fuck you so hard until you’re mewling my name against the sheets. And I won’t stop, I won’t stop even if you beg me to. I won’t stop until I’m done with you.”

Donghyuck doesn’t sound like he’s trying to dirty talk which only makes it even more arousing to your ear. It’s as if he’s losing control of his mouth, just saying anything that comes to mind. The honesty, the urgency, his breathy, desperate calls of your name between lewd words—

You choke out a sob. “Hyuck—I’m close—”

“Me too—N-noona—Kiss me—”

It’s one of the most intense orgasms you’ve ever felt and it’s funny because you never really enjoyed touching yourself before. Donghyuck follows a few seconds after, moaning your name so erotically that will probably give you a hard time falling asleep for days at the thought of it. You’re left dazed, staring at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. Your phone lays forgotten on the pillow next to you. Mustering all the strength you have left, you reach out for it. “Hyuck…?”

You can hear him breathing heavily. “I’m here,” he says. “Are you okay? Did you get to come?”

“Y-yes.” Now that it’s over, you begin to feel self-conscious again and the heat that blooms on your cheeks nearly wash every bit of your orgasm away in an instant. “Did you?”

“I made a huge mess.” He chuckles, sounding just as embarrassed as you are. “Fuck, didn’t realize it was going to be this good when we started. What would’ve happened if we had Face-Timed each other instead?”

Your head nearly explodes at the thought. “One step at a time, Hyuck. I’m practically dying from shame right now.”

He laughs a little at that. “So, you don’t really oppose the idea? Man, I have something to look forward to then.”

“Shut up, you’re gross. Is this the reason you called me?”

“No,” he hastily says, “I swear, I called because I missed hearing your voice.” Then he thinks about it again. “Well, I mean, I have been thinking about doing, uhh, these kinds of things with you but trust me, it wasn’t the reason why I called.”

“Sure,” you flatly reply, teasing him.

“Yah, yah, yah, it’s your fault for saying that you were wearing nothing but my shirt!”

“It’s your fault for asking me what I was wearing!”

It’s always like this with him. You’re bickering at one point, having sex at another time, then goes back to bickering once again. But it’s endearing, you suppose, because after this, you’ll be murmuring loving words, and just when you begin to think about it, Donghyuck whispers into the phone.

“I love you, Noona. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

And you smile. “I love you too, Haechannie. You’re the second best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“What the hell is the first one?”

“Chicken nuggets.”

“You’re so dead.”

***

[yourlocalfictionalenthusiast]

IN LIFE, IN DEATH...

PART TEN

:Masterlist:

A/N: And that’s a wrap! Ahh, writing this series has been so fun and I’m so glad that so many of you have liked it so much. Thank you guys for staying until the end and hopefully for upcoming stuff 👀 I hope you enjoy the finale of In Life, In Death... <3

(Also the song mentioned in part six and this part is ‘She Is Love’ by Parachute) <3

-

December 1994

Luke groaned as he woke up, squinting hard to try and adjust his eyes to the amount of light in the room.

Even before he could see clearly, he knew he must've fallen asleep in the studio judging by the soreness in his back and neck that he always got when he slept on the old couch. It couldn't have been more than six in the morning, and Luke could still feel the tiredness in his bones. So he tried to turn away from the light and hopefully fall back asleep, but there was something keeping him firmly in place.

His heart skipped when he looked down and saw that you were laying right next to him with your head on his chest and an arm thrown across his stomach. When he realized that his own arms were wrapped around you, his heart broke out into a full-on tap dance.

Waves of confusion ran through his still-foggy brain until he saw his guitar case propped up against the piano and his backpack on the floor with his clothes spilling out of it.

Then the events of last night quickly came back to him.

How he had gotten home late from rehearsal and his mom was waiting in the kitchen with his latest report card and her signature lecture at the ready. One minute he was standing there yelling, packing all he could fit into his bag, and the next, he was halfway to the studio with the rain soaking him head to toe.

He had expected it to be empty when he finally got there, but he was flooded with relief when he saw you. All the frustration slowly melted out of him the longer he laid there with you, leaving him feeling exhausted and shivering despite how warm he felt.

The last thing he wanted to do was talk about any of it, but when you asked, the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

He remembered rambling and crying again, the sound of your voice and the feeling of your fingers in his hair warming him up even more. Then finally, he remembered falling asleep with his chin tucked on top of your head, the smell of your shampoo filling his senses.

Without thinking, Luke reached down and carefully pushed a piece of hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear and smiling to himself when you shifted into his touch. Then taking in a sharp breath as the realization ran through him all the way down to his toes.

You were his best friend.

The person he wanted to see at the end of a long day. Whenever he was full of anger or lost in confusion, all he had to do was look at you and everything suddenly made sense again. With your pretty smile and laugh, and your way of flipping that little switch inside him that made his head all fuzzy and the ground start spinning under his feet.

You were his best friend, and he was in love with you.

-

2020

All you felt was a mixture of anxiety and nausea as you stood on the Orpheum's street corner, biting the tips of your fingernails.

The entire plan hinged on Willie and Teddy getting everything done in time, and considering that they had betrayed you all before, you couldn’t help but expect the worst.

“Look, don’t worry. Willie said he’ll get us on that marquee.” Alex said nervously as he kicked pebbles across the sidewalk.

“This is going to work, right?” Reggie asked.

“It has to.” Luke mumbled, wincing seconds later when another shock hit them.

Two sharp pops cut through the air behind you and you all whipped around to see Willie and Teddy standing just a few feet away. Willie was watching you all carefully with concern written all over his face, his eyes lingering on Alex longer than anyone else. Teddy stood at the edge of the group, practically burning a hole in your face with his guilty stare.

“Are you guys okay?” Willie asked.

“Yeah, nothing we haven’t felt before.” Alex laughed awkwardly. “How’d it go?”

“Well, when the opening band wakes up, they’ll find their bus two hundred miles out of Vegas.” Willie said with a proud smile as he did a spin, showing off his stolen jacket with the band’s name across the back.

“With absolutely no chance of getting back in time.” Teddy added.

Luke gave Willie a fistbump and pointed up to the office above the Orpheum. “That means there’s probably a promoter up there freaking out right now.”

Willie grinned, sarcasm laced in his tone. “Nah, man. This is Hollywood. I’m sure he’s being very professional.”

You laughed and then Alex slowly inched forward, clearly struggling for the right words to say to Willie. You gave his arm a quick squeeze before following Reggie and Luke down the street to give them space. Before you even got halfway down the sidewalk, Teddy poofed next to you.

“You know, If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you don’t want to talk to me.” He joked.

“Teddy-”

"I just-I didn't want to leave things the way we did." He rambled. "I'm sorry, I should've told you everything that night in the diner-"

"Teddy, It's okay." You said. "You told me before Caleb could put the stamp on me, and you didn't know the details about the plan until after it was too late to help my friends. Plus, I know how much you're risking helping us now."

As soon as the words left your mouth, you felt some of the weight fall off your shoulders. You weren't sure why since the situation was still a little painful and awkward. But being around Teddy always made you feel a little like that kid who started working at the diner with Cece all those years ago. Besides, they were so alike that you found it hard to stay mad at him.

You held out your hand for Teddy to shake. "Despite everything, I'm glad we met."

“Likewise, Gorgeous,” Teddy said with a relieved smile as he grasped your hand. With a subtle wink, he nodded over towards where Luke was standing at the end of the street. “He’s a lucky guy.”

"What? How did you?-" You sputtered as he stepped away. You never told Teddy about Luke, or at least you didn't think you did.

Teddy just smirked in response before disappearing into the air. At the same time, you saw Willie skate away out of the corner of your eye, leaving Alex alone on the sidewalk.

You all phased next to him and Luke squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah. I'm good." Alex smiled slyly as he gestured to the office. "Looks like this show needs a new opening act though."

You grinned. "Let's go see if we can help with that."

-

When you got back to the studio, you found Julie pacing back and forth in the middle of the room as she wrung her hands together.

When you all poofed in, she immediately jumped into a load of questions, losing her breath halfway through and flailing her arms around.

"Whoa, just sit down," You laughed excitedly. "We'll tell you everything."

Julie took a gasping breath and plopped backwards onto the couch then stared at you all with expectant eyes. "Well?"

"It worked!" You announced. "Everything's fine."

"You should be getting the call...now!" Alex pointed to Julie’s phone on the table just as it started buzzing. You all cheered and Julie shushed you as she answered the call.

You heard a woman's voice say something through the phone and Julie gave a thumbs-up as she started jumping on the couch. You watched in amusement and mild horror as Luke and Reggie lifted Alex up into the air and spun him around.

Once he was back on the ground, Luke and Reggie made a beeline for you, each of them grabbed one of your arms and flipped you upside down over their shoulders.

You all spent the next twenty minutes laughing and screaming and Alex even got a little teary-eyed but you pretended not to notice. Then Julie called Flynn and ran off excitedly to decide her outfit for the night, leaving the four of you alone to plan out the setlist.

“Okay, so I’m thinking we start with Stand Tall.” Luke said excitedly as he wrote the words down in his songbook.

“Sounds good.” Reggie said, suddenly quiet.

“’Sounds good’? Guys, I wanna hear ‘That sounds awesome!” Luke reached out and nudged Reggie’s shoulder. “I know this isn’t the way we imagined any of this. But we need to be all in tonight. This is our second chance to play the Orpheum!”

“I get it.” Reggie sputtered. “But it’s hard. Do we even know what’s on the other side when we cross over? Do we still get to hang out together?”

You shifted your weight as the happy little bubble surrounding you popped. You had been so wrapped up in the excitement of finally playing the Orpheum that you almost forgot what tonight was really about.

“You guys are the only family I have.” Reggie’s eyes were glued to the piano as he played with his fingers. You reached out and locked his arm with yours in an attempt to comfort him.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen either. But it’s not like we have a choice.” Alex said.

Suddenly, Reggie’s arm fell out of yours as all three boys fell back, clutching their sides.

“I’m pretty sure we do.” Reggie groaned. “And it rhymes with ‘Hollywood Ghost Club’.”

The garage doors creaked open and Julie appeared with a bright smile and a blue garment bag in her hand. When she saw your expressions, her smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

“We just got hit pretty hard by one of those jolts.” Alex said. “But we’re fine.”

“Oh, good.” She nodded, though she still looked on edge. “I’m nervous.”

“That makes two of us.” You said. “But we made it this far for a reason. We got this.”

“Can you ride there with me? I'm gonna need more pep-talk material for the drive there cause I still think I might puke.” Julie tucked her hair behind her ears.

“Of course, and don't worry, we’ll leave the windows open.” You joked, making everyone laugh.

The sound of a car horn cut through the air and Julie looked outside. "That's my dad. Are you ready, (Y/n)?"

You nodded. "Yeah, uh, give me a second. I'll meet you in the car."

As Julie disappeared behind the doors, you turned to the boys and sighed as you tried to soak up this moment. For all you knew, this could be the last little window of time you had alone with them before tonight.

Julie was a huge part of the band of course, but these were your boys. The ones who you started this all with, who had been by your side for everything.

From the look on all their faces, you could see that they were thinking the same thing.

Without saying a word, you launched yourself at Alex. He made a surprised noise but recovered quickly, throwing his arms around you and holding you tight.

"And I'm the emotional one?" He jokingly muttered in your ear and you pinched his side, making him jump back. "Rude."

As soon as your arms were open, Reggie stepped forward and hugged you so tightly that you were thankful to not need oxygen anymore because he was definitely crushing several vital organs.

You laughed and gave him one last squeeze before pulling away, locking eyes with Luke instantly.

Alex cleared his throat awkwardly and grabbed Reggie's shoulder, steering him over to Luke's songbook to 'check out the setlist again'.

"And then there were two." Luke joked.

You laughed and stepped into his waiting arms, making him laugh. You soaked up the feeling of comfort and familiarity for a minute before pulling away.

"This, uh, is for you," Luke said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. You knitted your eyebrows together in confusion as he handed it over. "I wanted you to have it in case...well, you know. If tonight doesn't work."

"It will." You said, trying to ignore the fact that it very well could happen. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Patterson."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He quipped back, his voice sounding softer and less teasing than you would've expected. You pulled back from him and because you didn't know if you would ever get another chance, you stood on your tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek.

You moved away too fast to see his reaction but the gesture made the other two boys smirk at you as you dashed out of the doors, making a beeline for the car pulling out of the driveway.

-

The back rooms of the Orpheum were a maze.

You had left for a few minutes to walk around the venue and clear your head, trying to wring out the last of your nerves.

By the time you found your way back, you expected to find the rest of the band rushing to get ready in the dressing room. But all you saw was Julie anxiously pacing as she had been earlier, a habit she seemed to have inherited from both you and Alex.

“You okay?”

She snapped her head up towards you and sighed. “Yeah, just a little worried. The guys aren’t here yet.”

You looked around the room and then at the clock, frowning. The show was in less than half an hour and that was already cutting it close. Part of you wanted to go check on them but Julie seemed to need you more at the moment.

“Okay, well, give them another ten minutes. I'm sure they'll be here. They wouldn’t miss this…again.”

You ran your palm across the front of your pocket, feeling Luke's note next to your parent’s photo, and hoped you were right.

But then more and more time passed until the stage manager came to escort Julie to the stage.

"Just a second!" She calls out and then turns to you. "(Y/n), something's wrong. They were getting those jolts pretty hard before we left. They must've run out of time."

You shut your eyes tight as the words sunk in. All you could bring yourself now was, ‘This isn't what was supposed to happen.’

The world fell out from under your feet and you had trouble even standing up straight as you imagined what must've happened to them. Your best friends, your brothers, your family was gone and there wasn't anything you could do about it.

The guy knocked again, this time a little harder and with a nervous tone. Julie chewed her lip as she looked between you and the door and you could almost see the cloud of grief settling over her.

As hard as it was, you tried your best to shove your feelings down and marched up to Julie. There would be time to fall apart later, but you knew that this what they would want you to do. "Let's go do this for them, okay?"

She took a deep, shaky breath before hesitantly nodding. You followed closely behind her as she walked out the door though the halls until she reached the stage. You waited beside Flynn in the wing as Julie settled behind her microphone and addressed the crowd.

There were scattered claps from around the venue and then she took a deep breath before singing the opening.

After the first few lines, you took your cue and materialized at the center of the stage. The crowd gasped and cheered the way they always did, but you kept your eyes shut tight and focused on the music.

Just as the song started picking up, you heard a familiar pop in the air and then the sound of drumming. You whirled around to see Alex mounted onto a drum set at the back of the stage, twirling his drumsticks around and smiling like he had never been gone at all.

Once you got over the initial shock, you wanted to cry with relief. They were okay, they were here. Alex winked at you goofily, and you ran towards Julie’s keyboard.

She had started bouncing on the balls of her feet, both of you finally getting into the song now that they were coming back. You followed suit, dancing around the base of the drum set as yours and Julie’s voices came together.

Then Reggie appeared on the other side of Julie and you ran to his side. You bumped his shoulder with yours and he grinned, moving to stand back to back.

The song was ramping up to the chorus when a staticky noise cut through the air, not loud enough for the crowd to hear but enough to make you all look over to the other end of the stage.

You could see Luke's form fading in and out, a look of anguish on his face, and the pit in your stomach opened up again. The crowd was on the edge of their seats as Alex's drumming paused and Luke finally materialized to sing the opening of the chorus.

You didn't even know you were moving until you suddenly found yourself across the stage next to Luke, unable to stop smiling as you sang.

Julie joined you, throwing her arms up in the air happily and jumping around. Reggie appeared by her side, flashing the crowd a winning smile.

Alex stood up and gripped his mic as he sang this solo. You looked back at him and flashed him a proud smile, then whooping loudly when Reggie sang his lines.

You all went down the line hitting your notes until the chorus kicked in again and your heart felt so full you almost couldn't stand it. This was what you were so close to achieving before you died, it was all you had wanted for years, and you knew that if you hadn't died, that night would've changed your life. But this night was something even more special. Because you were all here, all together.

Even if it was just for one last song.

Julie caught your attention and nodded towards the platform that spread out into the crowd. You followed her to the center and stood back to back as everyone cheered.

The guys joined in on either side of you, Alex grabbing one of your hands and Luke holding the other. You all bowed to the audience before taking your cue and vanishing, leaving only Julie on stage.

You landed in the wing, feeling a little lightheaded and overwhelmed from all the emotions you had experienced in the last five minutes. The elated smile fading from your face when all three boys poofed by your side only to fall to the floor instantly.

“It didn’t work.” You said miserably as Julie emerged into the backstage area. She grabbed Flynn and whispered something to her, pointing in the direction of her family. Flynn nodded and disappeared into the crowd while Julie ran to your side.

You hauled Alex onto his feet, letting him lean on you to stay upright while Luke and Reggie trailed behind Julie as she led the group back to the dressing room. Once everyone was inside, they collapsed on the couch or the floor, loudly groaning in pain.

“What happened? Why didn’t it work?” Julie asked tearfully.

“I guess playing here wasn’t our unfinished business.” Alex said hollowly.

“Point Caleb.” Reggie muttered as he clung to the side of an armchair.

You stood frozen next to Julie as panic spread through your whole body, both of you flinching in sympathy as the shocks continued.

“You have to save yourselves right now.” Julie begged. “Join Caleb’s club. It’s better than not existing at all!”

“She’s right.” You managed to say, your voice shaky and almost giving out. Your stomach flipped at the thought of them having to work for an evil club owner forever, but the alternative was worse. “You guys need to go now! For me. For us.”

“We’re not going back there.” Reggie shook his head.

Luke pulled himself up and stumbled forward a little so that he was right in front of you. “No music is worth making if we’re not all making it together.”

You sighed sadly, thinking back to your conversation yesterday. “So no more regrets?”

Luke let out a deep sigh and then reached up and cupped your cheek with his right hand. “Just one.”

You furrowed your eyebrows in response and Luke blinked hard as if he was trying to find the words. "I never told you why I left that night."

"Luke, don't." You gave him a weak smile. "I get it."

"You do?" He asked.

You struggled to get the words out. "Yeah, I mean it was bound to happen eventually. We just got too close and it was weird for you. I understand t-”

"What?" Luke asked, cutting you off with a confused look. "No, no, that's not it at all. Read the-"

Before he could finish, you heard Julie gasp loudly from a few feet away. You looked over to see her stepping back from Alex with an awestruck look on her face as she gripped his forearms.

Wait, what?

Before you could even begin to process what you were seeing, Reggie was reaching out to Julie, who grabbed his wrist and hauled him up to his feet. The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Julie turned to you and Luke.

“Guys, come here.”

Alex reached out and pulled you into his side while Luke threw an arm around Reggie’s back and Julie brought you all in closer to her. At first, nothing happened. But then there was a faint buzzing sound and the boys lifted their wrist towards the ceiling and you all watched in awe as the stamp floated away in the blink of an eye.

“Whoa.” Reggie said, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. “I don’t feel as weak anymore.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Alex agreed. “Not that I ever was that weak in the first place.”

You rolled your eyes and let your head fall over on his shoulder. “What do you think that means?”

Luke smiled. “I think it means the band is back.”

It was quiet for a second before Alex looked at you all shyly. “You guys think we can try that hug thing again?”

You laughed as you huddled together again, sniffling and laughing. Then Julie yelled out that you had played the Orpheum and then you were all jumping around, still tangled in each other’s arms.

Eventually, you all broke apart and while the boys started chasing each other around, you turned to Julie. She looked into your eyes and immediately flew into your arms, muttering into your shoulder, “I always wanted a big sister.”

The words warmed your heart and you squeezed her extra hard, grateful that you actually could now. “Well, I’m honored.”

“My family's probably looking for me so..." Julie stepped back from your arms with the biggest smile you’d ever seen on her face, you jokingly bowed to her and she copied the gesture before disappearing behind the door.

You wiped the last of your tears out of your eyes and turned around to find Alex and Reggie were talking in whispers and wearing knowing smiles. When Alex saw you looking, he cleared his throat and nudged Reggie’s shoulder.

“Hey, Reg.” Alex said cheekily, not taking his eyes off of you for even a second. “I was going to check out the next band. You wanna come with me?”

“Sure!” Reggie started strolling towards the door, stopping only for a second to nudge your shoulder and whisper ‘don't do anything I wouldn’t do’ in your ear.

Alex fixed Luke with a pointed look over his shoulder and Reggie gave him a dorky wink before they poofed away. You smiled fondly at the space where they were just standing and awkwardly turned towards Luke.

“Hi.” You said, laughing awkwardly.

“Hi.” Luke muttered back as he stepped forward until he was close enough to grab your hand. “About what I was saying earlier…”

You opened your mouth to say something but he shook his head and pointed to your pocket. “Read it. Please.”

You tugged the note he had given you earlier out of your pocket and carefully folded it open to see that it wasn’t a note at all. It was the love song that Julie had found that day in the garage, the one that he didn’t want anyone to see. You struggled a little trying to decipher Luke's handwriting. The ink was a little smudged and the song was clearly unfinished but it was the most beautiful thing you had ever read. And he had written it for you.

"I didn't leave because we got too close," He said. "It was the opposite, (Y/n), I left because I was scared to lose you, and I know that doesn't make sense because I kind of did w-"

You carefully tucked the paper back in your pocket with one hand and grabbed the back of his neck with the other, pulling him down and closing the last bit of space between you.

Luke's brain short-circuited for a second before he started kissing back, grabbing your waist with enough force to nearly knock you both backwards. It was dizzying and a little desperate, yet weirdly familiar, as if you'd been kissing him your whole life.

Most moments with Luke felt like they were happening in slow motion, but this time it was like a high-speed movie montage of your whole lives. The stolen crayons, the time capsule, the pre performance pep talks, the smell of cinnamon, the ferris wheel, his jacket, the movie nights and songwriting sessions. All of it had led up to this moment.

"I love you." Luke said immediately after you pulled away. "God, I love you so much. I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry."

“Hey, it’s okay.” You laughed, blinking another wave of tears out of your eyes. “I should’ve told you forever ago instead of skirting around it.”

“And what is it that you should’ve told me?” He said teasingly and you rolled your eyes. You had gotten so used to Luke being so shut down or nervous around you that you almost forgot how much of a little shit he could be.

“That I love you too.” You said, unable to stop smiling.

Luke leaned down and captured your lips in another kiss, this time threading his fingers through your hair as he cupped your cheeks in his hands. “I’m never gonna get tired of hearing that.”

You bit your lip to keep another laugh from bubbling up as you looked up at him, feeling completely overwhelmed in the best way possible. "So...what now?"

"I don't know." Luke admitted. "But I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"That no matter where we go, or what we do," He pushed a piece of hair behind your ear. "In life, in death... I'm yours. Always."

-

The End

-

In Life, In Death Taglist:

@ifilwtmfc @instabull @wanniiieeee @tenaciousperfectionunknown @charliegillespiewife @merceret @itismeasmolpotato @lilostif16 @dangerouslyclose @iainttakingshitfromnobody @givemebooksorgivemedeath @sunsetcurvedotmp3 @askgeoff @mayleenicole5676 @puppy11148 @vampire7595 @wackyworrieruniverse @reallysparklychaos @lovelydaydreams15 @rachmmb @musicismyescape27 @stackie4ever​ @spidermankenobi

(Strikethrough means I can’t tag you)

JATP Taglist:

@caitsymichelle13 @sunsetcurvej​

Let me know if you want to be added!

[librarianandguardian]

Just a feeling- Saul Silva x Female!Reader

Pairing : Saul Silva x Female!Reader

Word Count : ~2300

Warnings : Fluff, brief mention of drug use and burns

Music : Un homme - Jérémy Frerot

Author’s note : Getting pretty stressed because of a huge project at school, so I wrote this to blow off some steam ! I also wanted to say that I do not agree with the way some characters are written and treated in this show. I hope I did not perpetuate these errors, and that I got Silva’s personality a bit right at least. Feedback is appreciated, may it be on the story telling or even the grammar. English isn’t my first language. Flahs-backs in italics. Enjoy ! :D

GIF ‘s not mine, and I can’t find the creator.

French First World songs resonate in the Great Hall, she is dancing. Wild and free. Her loosened hairs fly through the wind. She has traded her Specialist armour for a long flowing dress. Her feet are hammering the ground in rhythm. The crowd carries her all over the dancefloor; she twirls and claps her hands following the music.

From an ignored fairy bloodline, her parents considered her a Specialist Legacy. When her mind fairies powers woke up, everything went wrong ; she was always an overwhelmed child. No one could help her everytime she lost control. Nothing but medication: earrings to contain, and pills to attenuate. It wasn't bad. She lived like that her entire life.

Silva is sitting on a plastic chair, leaning on the table by his side, his gaze lingering. She is an exceptional fighter; dance must be a piece of cake and fun judging from her large smile. To be fair, he barely remembered her from their time at Alfea. Farah told him she was three years younger than him and seemed to have a few memories.

« (Y/N) travelled a lot to the First World prior to college. Her parents were emissaries and brought back souvenirs. Rumours said that her room resembled a cave of wonders.

-Ever went there ?»

His friend chuckled.

« Once. It was full of trinkets, books, movies, postal cards too. Ben caught interest in it, especially the giant botanic encyclopaedia throning on her bookshelf. We both agreed after a while that she might be the ray of sunshine of her Specialist promotion. But I guess she was discreet, if you've never heard of her.»

It took some memory searching, but he indeed remembered one thing. A conversation between a bunch of 1st years talking about a secret party displaying famous First World movies. A few hours later, on the training field, (Y/N) battled fiercely. It caught the attention of many students, who gathered around the platform. Curiosity taking the best of him, he had followed the crowd.

« What's that First World song that I love to describe you with ?

-By the light Clairo, is it really necessary ? »

Her opponent mocked her. She rolled her eyes, wielding her sword before choosing her fight stance.

« You son of... Maneater from Nelly Furtado. Now let's fight please.

-Alright doll, eat me up. »

(Y/N) huffed in annoyance. Clairo was a good fighter, but a little bit too flirty. He launched himself at her. The young woman stayed incredibly calm. Dodging to the right, she left him to stumble before hitting his back with the wooden weapon. He fell to the ground with a grunt. A shy smile spread on her features.

Now that he thinks about it, her earring had intrigued him : an ear chain hanging from the top of the cartilage of her ear to her lobe. Each end was composed of a lavendish round lilac crystal. When she lost control recently, those crystals lit up with a blinding light and burned her skin.

« I change the earring every five year. Every year If any several big crises occurred.

-What about your burns ? How did they clean them up ? »

Her left hand ghosted over her intact lobe, while Harvey healed the bruised flesh. Her eyes stared at the floor of the greenhouse. Saul was holding her other hand.

« They... I stuffed myself with pills. Sometimes enough to sleep through an entire day. Within the Solarian force, it was the only way for them to treat me. None of their mind fairies could calm me down. I don't think you realize how much this, she lifted her intertwined hand, helps.»

The soldier chuckles at the memory. His eyes examined his fingers, remembering how she locked hers, as she found an anchor in his mind.

« My best guess ? Your training forged your head to have a certain mindset in crisis.

-Loads of Solarian troupers could have given you that.

-Yeah. I can't really explain it, she laughed shyly, maybe because you're a teacher, that two of your long time friends are fairies or just because you're good with people.»

Their gazes crossed. The air thickened. Truth to be told, (Y/N) was so lost upon why he managed to calm her down. Farah tried to guide her, but even then, nothing positive came out. Her youth as a student at Alfea only consisted in shared side glances with him in hallways. She sure as hell found the man attractive, but she had other stuff to think about.

A loud giggle snaps him back to reality. (Y/N) falls on his laps while trying to take off her high heels. Her eyes are opened wide and a little glassy. She's definitely drunk.

« Oh by the light, I'm sorry Silva. Aimed at the table ! »

The atmosphere becomes lighter. He catches her when she nearly trips off by trying to get up, one of his arms snaking around to help. Steadying herself on his laps, she catches her breath slowly, though some giggles erupt as she looks around.

« How can you still dance, uh ?»

With a guilty smile, she leans slightly against the table.

« Alcohol ! It's the only thing keeping me up, baby !»

Instant regret shoots through her veins. Some red creeps up on her cheeks, as her hands cover her mouth. The soldier chuckles, enamoured by her adorableness. One thing that strucked him when they met was her lightness. Out of all the solarian troupers out there, or even all the specialists he ever crossed paths with, she was one of the few who stayed so bright and playful. Subconsciously, his fingers dig slightly in her hips.

« It's alright, (Y/L/N).»

She giggles a bit, but thanks him. Farah watches from a far, joined by Ben. (Y/N)(Y/L/N) has been teaching at Alfea for a year now. The entire school seemed to have transformed into a much more joyous place : students got along better, the shyest opened a tad and the roughest softened. Ben's daughter Terra found a supporter of her personal projects and a confidant. Ben himself benefited from her return. Mostly in books and knowledge but that meant already so much to him. Farah gained a daughter ; (Y/N)'s powers were a mess for her advanced age, helping felt natural. But what she loved the most was how confused Saul got with the new Specialist. Their bond strengthened with time, however the first few days rocked the Headmaster all over the place.

«(Y/L/N), what did you do to our office ? Did you... Are these books classified by alphabetic order and colour ?! »

His colleague shrugged, trying to see if he was mad or just surprised. It happened a few days after her arrival. Their shared office went under few renovations.

« (Y/L/N), why dancing classes ? »

She shot up, put her hands on his desk and took twenty minutes to explain how it would make their movements more flexible, strengthen teamwork and be a tool for future mission on the job. Astonished could not describe Silva's feeling.

An admirable change that proved beneficial to the students. These two grew very fond of each other. A lot more than they thought. Words in the hallways started to spread about their growing fondness.

« Okay, I got a question for you, soldier boy.»

Saul tilted his head to the side.

« Are you having fun ?

-Of course I am.»

(Y/N) looks disappointed. Turning around, she pours some water in her cup and chugs it down.

« Really ? 'Cause the only thing I've seen you do is sit in a corner all night. »

He lowers his head, searching for the right words. How does he say that he just loves watching her run around the dancefloor ? How she bounds with students but also keeps their respect ? The fact that she's so organised that she could plan a First World themed party and keep her teacher skills to their best ? The shortest way for that would be admitting his feelings. He zones out long enough for her to talk again.

« It's okay. »

His eyes lock with hers. How did she sober up so quickly ?

« I know you have a reputation as a serious and frowny teacher to keep. And this is a graduation party, so. »

Never mind, she did not. The woman gets up, only to kneel under the tablecloth. He panics briefly.

« (Y/N), what on Earth are you doing ?»

She mumbles before appearing back outside. Her hands are holding a package. Another bright smile shines on her face. Silva knows what's coming, and he has mixed feelings about it; between fear, excitement and confusion.

« Happy Birthday Saul. »

His heart nearly stops. Few people know about his birthday, she is now a part of them. He frankly does not mind, even wished for it for a while now. His hands gently take the package to open it. Before his eyes lies a hard covered sketchbook and a wooden box full of high-quality pencils. The cover has a crow flying in a pearly sky with a red sun. The box is made of ebony and his name carved in silver. She knows an another of his secret. He tears up. The woman worries when he starts to sniffle. Much to her surprise, the soldier puts the gifts on the table before hugging her with all his might. Thank God the students are dancing or already out of the hall to smoke. (Y/N) answers his embrace, reassured.

« Thank you so much dear. »

It's her turn to have glossy eyes. She buries her face in his shoulder. This man is constantly under pressure and she has always wondered what he does during his free time : Does he train more ? He probably reads, right ? The answer came on a regular afternoon.

Silva knocked on her quarters' door. He heard shuffling before (Y/N) opened. She was wearing a bathrobe and a towel around her hair.

« Hi Saul ! Sorry hum. I woke up late and did not expect you so soon so, hum. »

The woman looked around, making her towel fall. Picking it up, she invited him in. He indulged, though a bit surprised.

« I'll be back in a jiffy, you know, putting some clothes on and all. Okay.»

She disappeared in her bathroom, leaving him to explore her room. Many watercolour paintings covered the walls, some abstract and others from the Realms of the Otherworld. However, a few landscapes felt unknown to him. On her desk lied sketches with a horde of different pencils. He discovered portraits of Farah, Ben, Terra, Sky, Riven and finally him. The lines were thin, some shadows sharp for the warriors and smoother for the fairies. A hint of jealousy took over him, quickly brushed away by shyness. The fact that she took the time to draw him was flattering. His fingers grazed over the pencils, wondering if he had time to prepare a little surprise. He puts down the file he came to discuss. A few minutes later, (Y/N) came out, dressed but her hair still wet on the edges. Silva was leaning against her desk, file in hand, a small smile on his features. She mirrored it before asking about the important matter at hand. Twenty minutes later, he left. Her eye caught a change in her drawing material : the portrait of Farah and Ben switched positions. She shuffled them, making sure everything was here, only to find an unknown piece. A cute fox was smiling, a little bubble under him stating :

« Nice Work (Y/L/N). Nice pencils too. Wish I had your talent.»

That last sentence made her wonder if he indeed had an artistic side. Needless to say that his quarters gave her answer. Same reason as his when he came, she knocked on his door one night. Though he did not fully invite her in, her eyes caught glimpses of nice sketches lying on a table, some rudimental equipment next to it.

They stay like this for a few seconds. The headmistress and Professor Harvey look at each other. No words, no need. Terra is chatting with a second year in a corner, bur her eyes catch them. She smiles, looking away shyly, but happy Sky sees the scene too, thanks to Riven who taps on his shoulder. They can't help the smile growing on their faces. Sky's father figure finding support is definitely going to be one of the highlights of their first year. (Y/N) and Saul part. One of her hands pats his arm.

« Wanna dance ? »

He closes his eyes, sighing. There is no lack of desire but the fear of what the students will say.

« I wish but... I don't know.

-I get it. But one day, you will ! That's a promise. »

With one last smile, she strolls back to the dancefloor, leaving him sheepish. He takes the sketchbook and a pencil. He might not dance tonight, but he'll make up to it.

[shirtlesssammy]

4x17: It's a Terrible Life

How have we not recapped this yet? Man, this one holds a special place in Boris’s heart -- even if it’s a Cas-less episode. (Natasha: I LITERALLY said the same thing.)

Then:

This is just gratuitous

Now:

Okay, by this point we know the premise of this episode. I’m just going to list all the Well Respected Man things Dean Smith does. 

He wakes up at 6:00am to an iPod. 

He steams his rice milk.

He wears suspenders and cufflinks. 

He drives a Prius.

He turns off the hard rock for NPR. 

Dean Smith is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Sandover Bridge and Iron. 

He types memos in Word.

He uses a headset to talk on the phone. 

He plays office mini-golf while schmoozing on said headset. 

He watches Project Runway (Ok, Dean Winchester totally watches that too, lbr.)

HE EATS SALAD.

He says the word ‘vis-a-vis’.

His boss Mr. Adler is very impressed with him. Good stuff!

He works late.

He is thinking of doing the Master Cleanse. 

He leaves at 5:30 (or really a couple minutes before, rebel!)

On the elevator ride out of the building, another passenger asks if he knows Dean. Dean, focused on his Blackberry, does not recognize the dude. The other dude won’t let it go and Dean tells him to “save it for the health club” before leaving. 

Sam Wesson works in the Tech Support section of Sandover. He mainly tells people to turn it off and back on again. Works every time! Sam and another buddy, Ian, head for coffee. They ask Paul, another worker, if he wants to join them. He’s busy working! Okay, okay, wait one moment. Paul got caught surfing porn on company computers and he still has a job!? WOW. 

Ian grabs some office pencils in the break room. (And we get a nice little intro shot from within the microwave….very nice easter egg for us second (and beyond) viewers.) He then asks Sam about the dreams he’s been having. Sam tells Ian that he dreamed that he saved a grim reaper named Tessa from demons. Ian finds that HILARIOUS. 

At his clown car sized cubicle later, Sam drifts off, only to have vivid visions of murder and monsters --and Dean’s in them. He bolts awake, and looks around disconcerted. 

Sam takes a walk and ends up in the same elevator as Dean again. They eye each other warily. Sam asks Dean what he thinks of ghosts. TOTALLY NORMAL ELEVATOR TALK. Dean hasn’t really given them much thought. Vampires either. Sam decides now is a good time to corner a perfect stranger and tell him about his CRAZY dreams. That’s what a journal is for, Sam! Dean dismisses this crazy man and exits the elevator. 

Sam starts researching (AW BABY) the monsters he’s been dreaming about. Ian interrupts him and tells him that he got an email telling him to report to HR. He’s not too worried as he heads off to his fate. Sam then hears Paul freaking out because he just lost a whole day’s work. 

Paul stays way past closing time trying to find his lost files to no avail. His breath puffs. They must turn the temp down after hours at Sandover. He heads to the breakroom, sticks a plastic fork in the door of the microwave and sticks his head in the microwave, and hits cook. GOOD STUFF. 

The next day, as Paul’s body gets carted away, the entire office looks on, including Sam Wesson and Dean Smith. Dean thinks there’s something weird going on. He looks up Paul’s personnel file (um, like whoa, how did he get access to that?) and learns that he was set to retire in two weeks. Curious. 

Sam is curious as well, but Ian is too busy working to engage. Dean calls Ian up to his office. Dean points out that there were just a few errors in a form he filled out yesterday. Ian is very remorseful. Dean doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal. He just wants him to fix the errors. Very un-Ian-like, Ian starts freaking out over his mistakes. Ian runs to the bathroom and Dean follows. He finds Ian staring at himself in the mirror. His breath frosts just before all the water and soap turn on. He insists Ian leave with him. Ian turns to look at Dean, and stabs himself with a pencil. GUH. Dean sees the reflection of an old man in the bathroom stall door as Ian dies. Dean calls for help. 

Dean is relaying the events to the authorities when he sees Sam looking on. Later, he calls Sam to his office. 

For Thirst Science:

Sam and Dean learn that they both started working at Sandover three weeks prior. (Dean! You picked a hell of a week to start the Master Cleanse!) Sam asks Dean if he saw something when Ian died. Dean doesn’t quite admit it but he saw a ghost! Sam wonders about the suicides. “What if these suicides aren't suicides? I mean, what if they're something not natural?” 

Sam brings up his dreams again. “So you're telling me that your dreams are special visions and you're some kind of psychic?” Lololololol. No, OF COURSE NOT. Sam shows Dean emails that Ian and Paul got that sent them to HR on the 14th floor --the HR office is on the 7th floor. Hmm. They decide to head to the 14th floor and room 1444. 

Mr. Blandface McBlanderson heads there first. It’s an old storage room. The air gets frosty, electronics buzz on. Sam and Dean rush down the hallway after hearing the man’s cries. The door is locked but Sam Fucking Wesson just busts it open. Dean is duly impressed. Sam is too. 

The ghost old man attacks Sam and Dean but Dean smashes him away with a wrench (an IRON wrench).

Decompressing back at Dean’s place, Sam longs for beer. “I’m on a cleanse,” Dean explains as he gets him a water. “I got rid of all the carbs in the house.” Oh DEAN.

At the end of this cleanse you chalk a pentagram on the floor, light a black candle, and barter your soul to get rid of those last five pounds

They compliment each other on their ghost fighting prowess. Sam “Boy Wonder” Wesson briefly tells Dean about how he feels out of place in his life. That’s SO MUCH oversharing, Sam! They decide to hit the research track. Dean finds………..the GHOSTFACERS. 

We montage our way through Smith & Wesson’s research, interspersed with Ghostfacer tips. A guy named Sandover turns out to be the ghost - a workaholic who lived for his company. Turns out he’ll kill for it too. They trace a number of historical deaths to Sandover employees. It turns out that the room with the ghost attack was Sandover’s office. 

The Ghostfacers continue to educate Sam and Dean on the finer points of ghost hunting: SALT. IRON. GUN.

Dean absorbs this, then wonders where one might even purchase a gun. Isn’t there a waiting period? Oh, sweet summer child. This here is the United States of America and it’s far too easy to get a gun. The Ghostfacers lesson continues...

Ed: The aforementioned super-annoying Winchester douchenozzles also taught us this one other thing. You have to burn the remains.

Harry: Okay, this next part gets a little gross. Sometimes you might have to dig up the body. Sorry.

Ed: It's illegal in some states.

Harry: All states.

Ed: Possibly all states.

Smith and Wesson return to the office to search for pieces of non-cremated Sandover. Sam gets cornered by a baby-faced security guard, leaving Dean alone to continue the hunt. In Sam’s elevator, electronics start to glitch. It’s probably nothing! The guard pries open the elevator door and crawls out onto the next floor.

The elevator slips and the guard falls victim to the blood cannon. Sam adds this incident to his list of Terrible Things That Happen in Elevators.

Sam and Dean reconnect by a historical display which includes Sandover’s gloves. Those gloves seem like likely candidates for remnant DNA...and in short order the ghost proves them right. Old Man Sandover zaps in as they break the glass. They fight!

Sandover looks like he’s got the upper hand, lowering his brain-zapping fingers to Dean, when Sam lights the gloves on fire. Sandover goes up like a torch.

Smith and Wesson are amped up after the fight! Sam wants to hunt ghosts full time. Dean scoffs at this. “How would we get by? Stolen credit cards, eating diner food drenched in saturated fats, sharing a crap motel room every night...You don’t want to go fighting ghosts without any health insurance!” Wise words. 

For Look at this Well-Prepared Sunshine Science:

Sam confesses that his hunting dreams featured Dean as well. “What if that’s who we really are?” Sam wonders. 

Dean defends the reality of his life. HE WENT TO STANFORD. His father’s name is Bob, his mother’s name is Ellen, and his sister is Jo. Excuse me. I’m just going to….stand outside my door and HOWL MOURNFULLY about this with the local coyotes. 

“We’re supposed to be someone else.” Sam tells Dean that he started at Sandover because he broke up with Madison - but now her number leads to an animal hospital. (I swear to god, I’m gonna chew off my own arm at this show.) Sam says that Dean’s more than just a corporate suit. Dean shoos Sam from his office. 

The next morning, Sam’s back at the daily grind. He steps back from his phone and then swings a crowbar at it, Office Space style. 

Upstairs, Zachariah smarms his way into Dean’s office and clucks that he looks tired. He’s heard good things about Dean and offers him a generous bonus.

Zachariah hints that a big promotion could happen in 8-10 short years of constant work and sacrifice. The joy in Dean’s eyes fades. Dean turns it down and tells Zachariah that he plans to quit. “I have some other work I have to do,” Dean tells him. “This - it’s not who I’m supposed to be.” Zachariah smiles and zaps Dean’s brain. The camera desaturates.

“My god am I hungry,” a confused Dean observes as Zachariah chuckles. (Stop reading Goop, Dean! Get off that cleanse!) Zachariah explains that he’s Castiel’s boss, and he’s on Earth to ensure that the Winchesters fulfill their destiny - as hunters! 

“You’re a hunter,” Zachariah explains. It’s in Dean’s blood. (I hiss at this.) And if Dean works hard enough, he’ll do everything he’s “destined to do. All of it.” GUH. Zachariah urges Dean to embrace his life. It could be worse, after all!

Semi-quote Kinda Life, Baby:

Good stuff

Did you try turning it off and then on? 

Look, man, I don't know you, okay? But I'm gonna do a public service and let you know that you overshare

How the hell did you know that ghosts are scared of wrenches?

I don’t believe in destiny. I believe in dealing with what’s right in front of us 

Most folks live and die without moving anything more than the dirt it takes to bury them. You get to change things

 Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

[plush-rabbit]

Praise Thy Master

Word Count: 3.5K

A/N: I think this is my first time writing a dom reader so I hope I did well!!

You sit in silence at a cafe, your grapefruit bubble tea sat in front of you stands perfectly still. Your legs are crossed under the table as you scroll through your phone, drink half empty and mask pulled tight against your face. You pull your mask and slip the straw underneath, popping a pomegranate bubble between your tongue and roof of your mouth. A chair across the room squeaks and you let out a sigh. When you look up, no one is staring at you, eyes focused on anyone but you. You lean back into your seat and hook your purse across your shoulder. You grab your drink, the water that has formed on it wets your hands and you click your tongue. You stand from your table and make your way across the shop. Your steps are quick and light, and reaching upon a table where a lone man sits, you take the seat across.

The man jerks in attention and stares at you, eyes glancing around the room and hands forming into fists. “I-”

“You know it’s rude to stare right?” You roll your eyes and gently swing your legs under the table. “I mean, come on. It’s one of the few days I have off and all I wanted was to enjoy some tea but instead,” your voice raises in pitch and you tilt your head, “I have some stalker come and show up here. I mean is no place safe from you? And you,” you chuckle and shake your head, “you’re-” you point a finger at him- “unrelenting. I mean, how long has it been? Couple months, no? I gotta give you props for it. You know so much about me- things that aren’t even available online. And all the stuff you give me? I have to admit, they’re preferable compared to other gifts. I mean- all those little trinkets that you leave me? The cream? Smells lovely.” You tilt your head and the man sits in silence, perfectly still, as if the need for movement is gone. “It kind of reminds me of a cat, you know? When they leave presents for their masters.” You smile underneath your mask and your legs come to a still. “So kitty,” you purr, your leg coming up and brushing against his,”you coming to my show tonight?” Your leg stretches high, brushing against his leg.

The chair makes an awful, high pitched screeching sound and the drink nearly topples over until you grasp it, your legs coming down to the floor. You pout and shake your head. You pinch your mask and take a sip from his drink. “Mm, peach.” You bat your eyes at him and stand from the seat gracefully. Your hand meets his shoulders and you spare him a glance. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

-

“Great performance as always!” The man in front of you shakes your gloved hand and you smile widely at him. “When you sing, it’s- it’s like I could feel the love you give to all your fans!”

“Oh!” You giggle and clasp your other hand above your fan. “Thank you so much! You know I wouldn’t be anywhere without you as my fan!” You give him a head tilt and quirk your lips.

“I really do love-”

A sweet ringing sound fills your ears and you slip your hands out of the male’s grip and you lean back against the metal chair. “Oh,” you pout. “Looks like we ran out of time. I’ll see you next time, right?” You nod your head as you say your words, beaming as the man that is escorted away from you shouts his reply.

Your eyes are closed as the next person moves forward and you beam at them without seeing who they are. “Hi! I hope-” you open your eyes and your smile flaters and turns into something colder- “well, you did show up, huh?” 

The man with light blue hair that reaches his shoulders avoids your gaze and holds a photocard set of you gingerly in his hands. He extends it out to you and under the mask he wears, you can see red peek out.

“You’re going to have to speak up if you want me to sign it.” You place your chin above your hands and smile sweetly at him. “So, what is it you want me to do?”

“Can you sign the cards,” he hesitates, “please.” His eyes meet yours for a quick second before looking away. “To Tomura.”

“Tomura?” You repeat and the man nods. “That’s a cute name,” you hum and grab a pen, grabbing the card set and etching your signature on it. Your eyes meet his and they glance back down at the set in front of you. He has a cute voice- raspy but it suits him. “I didn’t see you in the audience. Either you just showed up or-” you glance up at him and put the pen down- “you’re really good at hiding. But,” your eyes glance over him, “that’s to be expected isn’t it?” The cards are neatly tucked back into the box and you place a kiss against the top, a sliver of glimmer glints under the light and you hold out to him with a coy smile. “Sorry I got some lipstick on it Tomura.”

“That’s-”

“Before you leave,” you raise a hand, “look at the last picture for me? I left you something special.” You bat your eyelashes at him and watch as he opens the set. He’s careful as he pulls out the card, your eyes are entirely focused on his hands, watching as he grabs the card. His eyes scan the card, eyes appearing soft for a split second. It’s a simple photoset- polaroids of you in various settings with white space underneath for your name and when he flips the card over his eyes widen and he looks back at you. You smile and wink at him as the bell rings, serving as a notification that time is over. “Bye Tomura. I’ll see you later.” You wave at him as he’s told to leave.

-

You sit in your home, going through social media, reading the nice comments left on the official page for you and various others on people who managed to take a few pictures or videos during the concert. You smile softly and hum. Your phone buzzes with messages from your friends who congratulate you and fans who heart your comments. It makes you smile and pride swells in your chest. You did good. And you’re exhausted, but you’re happy. For the most part. While your phone vibrates with notifications, it still doesn’t feel as if it’s enough. You haven’t received one. You haven’t received your little stalker’s message. It makes you sigh. 

“To think, he’s been following me around and yet he can’t even message me after I offered, how sad.” You pout and lean back against your pillows. “It’s too bad I didn’t get his number.” 

As if graced by a higher power, your phone buzzes with a message and you rise from the comfortable, slack position with a giddy expression. You quickly unlock your phone and you’re met with a text message from a soap company promoting their new line. You groan and fall back to bed. 

A knock at your window makes you jump out of your skin. You turn and see a hand fisted, hovering over the window and you grin widely. You jump out of bed, pulling down on the shorts that have risen up and done little to hide what you have hidden. You throw the window open and he flinches away.

“Tomura!” He winces and retracts his hand. “Oh come on, you’ve been to my place dozen of times- granted without my permission-”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He hisses and when you move away from the window, you encourage him to enter. He narrows his eyes at you and he enters your room. “What the-” he mutters when you move past him and shut the window, latching on the lock and closing the curtain.

“Oh Tomura,” you sigh and walk over to the bed. “You’ve been stalking me and now you’re going to get mad when I allow you into my home?” You spread your arms wide and give him an incredulous smile. “You must have been inside my place before- right?” You nod encouragingly at him.

“Yes,” he whispers, eyes darting around.

“Okay. So what have you done then? I’ve never had a stalker as committed as you are,” you coo, crossing your leg over the other. “To be honest, I haven’t seen my other stalkers as of late.” You tilt your head. “You wouldn’t happen to know what  happened to them would you?”

“Do you know who I am?” 

You shake your head and you have this innocent look when you bat your eyelashes at him. “Entertain me.” You smile sweetly at him. “Come on kitten,” you coo. 

He opens his mouth and mouths words but ultimately closes it. 

“Cat got your tongue?” You lilt, a knowing smile on your lips. “I’m fairly positive on who you are. And if I’m right, then I’m a lot more positive about what you’ve done to them. You left their watches or fan memorabilia on my doorstep and the next day I hear they go missing. It’s uh, rather uncouth,” you giggle and scratch the side of your jaw. “I could have gotten in trouble for it, you know?”

“You recognized what they wore?”

You raise your index and puff your chest. “I recognize all- or at least most- of the fans that I have! It’s important to keep my fans happy.” You smile cheekily at him and give him finger guns. “So you invited yourself over. Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Why?” When you tilt your head and the smile falls from your face, he continues. “Why did you give me your number?”

You shrug. “To be perfectly honest, I just found you interesting. You’re like this enigma to me. I have suspicion of who you are and if my suspicions are true, then that brings so many more questions. I have to ask- What made you become a fan of mine, Shigaraki-san?” Your grin widens when his shoulders scare and you giggly flap your hands. “Ah! Am I right?”

He opens his mouth and he shakes his head. He buries his face into his hands and his shoulders shake. You frown and when you raise a hand to comfort him, you hear laughter. Your hand retracts as soon as he raises his head and you blink owlishly at him. His laughter is high pitched and you watch him in wonder, your smile growing and hands that jump and dance across your lap. He laughs and shakes his head, and his eyes glint with something unrecognizable. “You’re fucking insane,” he laughs.

“Does that mean you don’t want to make-out?” You bite the inside of your lips when he freezes. “I was going to invite you over but you sort of did that yourself.” He stutters and his face grows red. You allow your grin to widen and even you can tell it comes off predatory. “That’s cute you know. The whole big bad villain is flustered over a kiss,” you lick your lips, “I like it.”

“I’m not-”

You rise from the bed and cup his face in your hands, lips meshing into his and you smile into the kiss when he gasps, tongue slipping into his mouth and your hands remove themselves from his face and slide down his chest. Your hands wrap around his waist and slide towards his middle, unbuttoning his pants and zipping down his zipper. 

You pull away from the kiss and you take a deep breath. “Do you want this Tomura? Or Shigaraki? Which-”

“Tomura,” he nods, frantically, pupils dilated and cheeks red. “Call me Tomura.”

You smile sweetly at him. “Okay Tomura,” you peck his lips. “But I do want to ask again- do you-” You gasp when he presses his lips against yours. Your hand slides upwards, to cup the back of his head and you grip his hair into your hand and yank his head back. He whines and makes a sound in the back of his throat. “Don’t get too greedy now Tomu-kun,” you growl. “You still stalked me. Don’t think I forgot about that.” You let go of him and sit on the bed, slipping your shorts and underwear off and tossing them to the side. Your legs are separated and you give him a coquettish grin. “You’re free to have a taste.” 

His eyes meet yours and he nods. He sits on his knees and a hand goes down to grab at his hardening length. You tut your tongue and pat him on his head. He glares at you, only to soften when you narrow your eyes at him.

“Oh Tomu-kun,” you sigh. “You made my first few months a literal hell with how paranoid I was. You really don’t get to have the happy ending right now.” Your lips curl upwards and teeth come to show. “I do. You aren’t allowed to touch yourself until I say so. I’m really not above punishing if needed, kitten.” You slip your top off and tilt your hair. “Understood?” He nods. “Good,” you give him a honeyed smile and grab at your inner thigh. “So lick it baby.”

His tongue is hot against your core. He laps at it feverishly, mouth swirling past your clit and slipping into your slit, suckling at the arousal that seeps from you. He rocks himself on his knees and presses his face further into you and your heel presses into his back. His arm twitches and he whines pitifully into you, the vibration making you jerk your hips towards his face.

“No touching,” you mewl, grabbing at your breast and rubbing a pebbled nipple. “Not yet Tomu-kun. Just hold out.” 

He nods against you and his tongue pushes around your clit, swirling the pulsing bud around, tongue peeking out and lips wrapping around to suckle on it and his swipes down, nose brushing against it causing your legs to tense and a moan to sound in the back of your throat. His tongue flicks in and out of you, circling and rubbing your inner walls, your sex leaking with desire as your breaths grow deeper. 

“Good boy,” you murmur, your hand reaching between your legs to grab at a tendril of his hair, holding it between your fingers. “Who knew you’d be so good at following directions. You’re such a good boy, kitten.” You rise on your elbows and his eyes meet yours. “Come on kit, don’t you want to know what I taste like? How sweet my orgasm is? How it’ll feel as I tighten around your tongue?”

His feasting becomes more feverish, tongue swishing inside of you, he presses his face closer to your sex, desperate to get you to reach your high and you sigh. “Tomura, I’ll be nice. You get to touch me if you want.” 

As the words leave your lips, his fingers enter you and your eyes widen and body tenses. His fingers move in and out at a fast pace, lewd noises fill the room and his fingers curl inside of you, desperate to find the sweet spot that will make you curl. His digits are noble and quick, and when they press against your wall you gasp and your back arches. A whispered curse leaves your lips and you rise to a sitting position, gripping his hair in your hand. 

“Fuck Tomura,” you gasp. “Do- Do that again- oh fuck,” you groan, wrapping your legs around him and stifling a moan behind a hand when he mimics his previous actions. “Yes, Tomura. Oh- what a good boy. Fuck,” you spit out, your hands releasing his hair and harsh, ragged breaths leaving through your nose. You spill onto his face, his tongue curling inside of you, swallowing your honeyed nectar, humming as it slides down his throat. His hands still and his erection presses harshly against the fabric of his pants. You tap his head and lean back onto your back. “Okay. You know how to use your tongue.”

“Can I touch myself now?” His voice cracks and when you peek at him, you grin.

Tomura sits on his knees; your sweetness decorating his chin and making it shine under your lights, his face is blooming red and his pupils are dilated, tongue lolling out and he looks so needy. He takes stuttering breaths, ot breath fanning across your thigh, his arm twitches and a hand rises to tug on a strand of hair.

“Get on the bed, dear,” you stretch your arms above your head, “I want to try something with you.” He rises and you gasp. “Oh! Make sure you strip though. And do it slow for me, hm?”

His face burns bright and you watch with wide eyes as he removes his clothing. He does as he’s told, he removes the clothing slowly letting it pool onto the floor. His leg jerks and he looks around your room, avoiding your eyes and you think it’s cute how shy he is- how this infamous villain is brought to his literal knees with a simple command. He crawls onto the bed and you perk up as he covers his face with his hands, chest caving in with deep breaths. You run a hand across his chest, lips quirking upwards, when he jumps, your hand glides down his abdomen and flutters above his pelvis. 

“You’re so cute,” you mutter under your breath. You hold the base of his cock and run your thumb across his length. He twitches under your touch, pearly beads leaking down his cock and he makes a choking sound. You shush him gently. “You might not get the full happy ending, but you’ll get one.” Your hands glide above him, wrapping him in a firm grip. You take a peek at him, an eye on you as you work him with your hands. “You still stalked me you know. And even if I am attracted to you, I really can’t forgive that,” you chuckle. “I went through such a bad spell of paranoia, you know?” You turn to look at him and your grip tightens. “Be grateful I’m even touching you like this.” You return your attention to his thickness and jerk him slowly. Your lips hover over his slit that beads and you whisper onto him, “You’re not being very grateful, you know?”

He grumbles under his breath. “Thank you,” it comes out in a hoarse whisper. “I- Thank you so much.” He whines when he feels your tongue lap across his slit. “Fuck,” he archs his back when your mouth suctions his cockhead, “fuck.” He squirms and his breathing grows deeper, hoarser while your tongue swirls around him and sucks him deeper. “Thank you,” he croaks, repeating it like a mantra, hands carefully poised above his stomach leaving red lines to avoid decaying your covers.

You pop off his shaft, a string of drool and pre-ejaculate connecting you to his cock and you lick your lips. “You’re a bit of a bitter kitten,” you speak slowly, mouth still parted open and glistening. “I’m not sure if I like it or not.” Your hand works him slowly, more enthralled with the feeling of him in your grasp and you bring a nail to ghost over a prominent vein, smirking when he moans. “Say my name Tomura. I want to hear it.”

He repeats your name under his breath. It’s quiet, nothing more than a murmur in the night, a silent plea laced into your name, filled with want and desire, until it grows, chanting it louder, the want more prominent, hands that dig into his belly and leave red crescent marks in its wake. He moans it out, broken by guttural groans of pleasure as you quicken your pace. Your name is echoed throughout your home, bouncing off the walls, voice groaning weak and his muscles tense. You wrap your lips around him and choke when his seed slides down your throat. It’s bitter and thick, and you can feel the dripping down your throat as it slides in thick, gooey strands. You pop away from him, licking your lips and bringing your index and middle finger to your lips.

He lays in bed, bottom lip between teeth and you roll your eyes and give him a tired smile. Your hand rests above his and he stiffens. “You’ll ruin your lips like that, kitten. You’ve been here plenty, you know where the kitchen is. I’m going to take a shower. You’re free to join me,” you coo, circling your finger around his pebbled nipple. You rise from the bed and give a pat to his thigh, leaving the room filled with rough breathing and little mewls of pleasure.

[fantasyinvader]

Beat Binding Blade tonight

So, right off the bat I'm going to admit. I abused the arena and save states. This is a really, really hard game. And while I enjoyed it, I'm going to give three things I didn't like about it.

1)Enemy reinforcements arrive at the end of the player phase, and can attack during the enemy phase. That is unfair, especially when I assume that parking a unit on the spawn point will prevent them (It doesn't) or my healer just happens to be in the area. I like difficult games, but when I fail at something in those I want to feel like it's my fault for doing so. When I die in Bloodborne or lose a unit in Fates Conquest, I'm willing to accept it because I felt it was fair (plus I'll just restart the chapter in Conquest anyway). I could have not died if I had played a little better. This game was not fair when it did that.

2)The supports. A lot of the stuff about the characters is locked away in their supports, since this is one of the old Fire Emblems where it throws units your way because it's assuming you didn't reset the game when one died. They don't get cutscenes to be important, and with only five supports per character (barring if one dies, then any unit that had supports with gets those supports back). And even then, getting an A rank doesn't pair up any units except for Roy. So you don't get to play love doctor here, it's only really there for the stat boosts. But in the case of my boy, he needs those supports in order for his character to fully come through.

3)I can take 8 units into the final battle, and they're the only ones who get full ending cards. Everyone else just gets a single line. Kinda weak if I use someone like Fir for most of the game, but bench her at the end to give Rutget Durandal.

Even with my cheating, I still enjoyed this game. Mostly for the story. When Fire Emblem first appeared in Smash Brothers Melee, as a kid it instantly caught my attention. Roy and Marth just looked so cool with their swords and armor (true fact: My favorite design for Link is the Skyward Sword design, simply because it has chainmail under the tunic. I get it, the tunic is iconic but SS's Link just looks practical), and I preferred Roy because I though his fully-charged shield breaker hurting him was cool. I even keep a Cipher card of his in my wallet for good luck. I wanted to know what Fire Emblem was, what kind of game it was. My friend showed me a screenshot of the upcoming GBA game in Nintendo power, which I got for the following Christmas (sadly, I didn't get Sacred Stones as I got a PS2 the following year). I loved that game, but the idea that I was playing as Roy's father always was a bit of a sour point for me. It's because of that game when I got a 2DS a decade later, because I wanted to game but kept getting pulled away from my console, I eventually went back to Fire Emblem.

And, I'm going to admit, Binding Blade hurt me because I played Blazing Blade first. It really did. I mean, Hector dies early on, Lyn is presumably dead hell a lot of my old comrades probably died in this war, Eliwood's wife dies shortly after they are married while Eliwood is more useless than ever, the kid I saved in Bern becomes a genocidal maniac, and the fact that the characters of Blazing Blade kinda caused this to happen by releasing the seals on the Legendary Weapons in their own quest... It kinda bugs me that the Legendary Weapons I used in Blazing Blade are in their trap filled storage places. Like, who returned them there? And if I have characters from that game returning in Binding, I find it strange they don't comment on needing them again. But this is a case of the game trying to be a prequel to a story that wasn't written with it in mind.

But at the end of the day, one thing just kept popping up in my mind. Binding Blade is the antithesis of the Crimson Flower route from Three Houses. I know they said Genealogy of the Holy War was an inspiration, but I can't help it. I've seen so many people try to praise that said route as some sort of denouncement of the rest of the franchise. That it's about putting power in the hands of the people (it's not) instead of having some Lord be the good king. Granted, the Mandate of Heaven seems like it's a running theme of the series, so without understanding what that is I can understand why people don't grasp what that part of the message. But Binding Blade, it just hit so many things on the nose that I needed to say something.

So without further adieu, I'm just going to bring up a few points.

With Regards to Humanity

It's interesting how both Zephiel and Edelgard come at this from different angles. Sure, they both lead wars of conquest across the entire continent, and I'm guessing Zeph didn't tell his troops what he was planning on doing once he won so there's likely a level of deception going on there as well. He really doesn't care for his fellow man, and the game goes out of it's way to show us why. Hatred, greed, or even selling out your people in the name of self-preservation. The game doesn't shy away from showing us any of this, saying that it's wrong and thus why Roy has to kick some guy's arse. Zephiel knows this, but in Edelgard's case? She's out there fighting for absolute power, destroying anyone who won't bend the knee to her while those who do out of self-preservation like House Gloucester are rewarded for it.

In essence, Edelgard is everything Zephiel saw wrong with the human race, she is why he felt we needed to go extinct. The very things he condemns humanity for are the things she reward. Zephiel would have actually handed over power to those he felt deserved it if he had won, whereas Edelgard is demonstrably shown to hold onto power until near the end of her life. One wants humanity dead, the other wants all the dragons. They even oppose each other in their classes. Edelgard is based on the red emperor archetype, she wears red, her class is the heavily-armored Emperor and her weapon of choice is an axe. Zephiel is a king, armoed but wearing purple and he uses a sword in battle.

Even if they both have screwed up history with their family's due to their father's inability to keep it in his pants, they're both presented as villains despite being ideologically opposed which goes to show with Fire Emblem the method IS the message.

Ancient Wars, Super Powered Weapons and Lies.

War of Heroes vs. The Scouring. The former is an event where the full details are shrouded in mystery, up to the player to piece together the clues and figure out the truth for themselves...or in Crimson Flower's case, ignore the truth and act out in your ignorance.With Binding Blade though, when the truth starts coming out, it hits hard. I mean, right from the beginning of the game we're told man was the one who broke the peace by attacking the dragons, but then we learn that those legendary weapons messed up the environment, resulting in dragons needing to use human forms only to be slaughtered by man. Dragons were blamed for the environment, the people who used those weapons were revered as heroes. We don't know why mankind launched their attack, but we do know that they weren't able to slay the Demon Dragon, one who had her soul destroyed in order to control her, because the Heroes felt sorry for her. It's making dragons out to be the victims here, much like the dragons in Three Houses. But Crimson Flower only serves to demonize them, acting like they can't understand humanity when the dragons in that game are a lot closer to humans emotionally than the ancient dragons in Elibe.

The Elites in comparison weren't heroes, and that lie has been confirmed as Rhea trying to make peace.

The good ending for Binding Blade is being able to save the dragon whose soul was destroyed, whereas Crimson Flower ends with slaying a dragon after you've spent the entire game triggering her (and is the ending that leads to oppressive rule under Edelgard, in addition to the only ending without sunlight. What? You thought you'd get the good ending when her final boss theme was playing on the last stage?). Also, you need all the Legendary weapons in order to unlock the final stages, which all play into the big mystery. Crimson Flower requires the player to not understand that the world-building was done to support fighting against Edelgard instead.

Merits of a leader

Let's not beat around the bush here, Roy will not carry you through Binding Blade. His bases are low, and while he has good growths he is unable to promote until the very end of the game. Even then, you need to save the Binding Blade's usage to ensure you get the good ending. Roy is also very unsure of himself, thrust into a position of leadership despite his young age. But look at what happens when he succeeds, he manages to overcome the odds and take down the mightiest army on the continent. At the end of the game, he's shown himself as more than capable of leading. Not to mention, he also believes that humans and dragons can live together, even seeing this in Acadia (and if Ninian was his mother, he's unknowingly proof of this as he is 1/4 dragon himself. May explain his poor bases). If he marries Liliana, he even becomes a King for likely much of the same reason Byleth does in SS/VW (most leaders are dead following the war, plus combining his territory with Ostia which had already taken over Lyn's land after she abdicated/married Hector). Roy learns the truth as already established.

Compare this to Crimson Flower Byleth. Byleth leads the Black Eagle Strike Force, but credit for it goes to Edelgard. Byleth never gets any recognition for this, no position of authority despite proving themselves, instead that goes to Caspar Jenkins of all people, and ends the war continuing to fight TWSITD from the shadows to support Edelgard's regime. And if you read between the lines, Edelgard is NOT a good leader, resorting to bribes, threats, cronyism, secret police, propaganda, and even TWSITD's support and later stolen tech in order to maintain her rule. Byleth lost whatever emotional development they got from White Clouds during this route, once again becoming the Ashen Demon, and is even willing to let themselves die if they can't keep their “humanity” in check showing a distaste for their own draconic heritage (showing humans and dragons can't live together in this timeline). They didn't grow into being a leader, they devolved into being Edelgard's unthinking muscle. Byleth never learns the truth in this route, falling for Edelgard's manipulations resulting in them losing Enlightened One/Nirvana status.

Not to mention, Heroes Relics have really low weapon levels. In theory, they can be used by anyone but only safely by those with Crests and most fully with a matching Crest. Legendary Weapons, on the other hand, can be used by anyone with an S rank in their type. Your characters have to EARN the right to use those things and you'll need them to deal with all the Manaketes during the final level, whereas Relics aren't exactly that level of broken.

Honestly, seeing the ending of Binding Blade and Idunn recovering put at least one tear in my eye. Crimson Flower's just made me feel like the game was calling me an idiot (which considering the Nirvana/Enlightenment thing, it kinda was). I would love if Binding Blade got the Echoes treatment, or even if they just did a GBA collection for the Switch. But after all these years, one thing is as certain now as it was when I was a kid.

In this house, ROY'S OUR BOY!

[ooohyou]

Submitted to r/nosleep by u/NemesisLuce

Please support the original author.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. Cute little bookstore in a quaint little town. I love helping customers find the right book for their mood. I love showing cute children’s books to curious kids. I love talking with sales reps and figuring out exactly which new releases to order from them.

I also fucking hate my job.

It was ten minutes past closing time, and I had my brightest, fakest smile on while trying to get the last customer out of my store. No sir, I cannot look up a book on the computer if all you know is the cover was red when you saw a poster for it 5 years ago. No sir, “I think it was about the cold war and a detective who drank too much but maybe it was something else” does not help me at all. Look sir, all my historical thrillers are on this shelf. Does anything ring a bell? No? Was it made into a movie? You don’t know? Oooookaaaay then, I’m sorry to inform you that we are already past closing time, here’s the store number, if you remember the title give us a call and we’ll order it for you if it’s still available. Thank you, good evening to you too sir, goodbye. Yes you have your umbrella, it’s right here in your hand sir. Okay bye bye.

I sighed and gave my cashier the biggest eyeroll I could manage before locking the door and turning over the sign that previously said ‘come in, we’re open!’. I heard the coins clanking in the coin counting machine (do these have a name? I don’t know. Coin counting machine is pretty self-explanatory and I’ve never bothered to check if they were actually called that), signifying that Alice had started to sort her cash drawer. I would only need to take out the profits of the day, make sure she had enough cash for tomorrow, and send her home. I went through the motions mechanically, only thinking about the nap I was about to have in the breakroom. It was going to be glorious. I really needed it if I wanted to be alert for the night shift.

Oh, yeah. We’ve got a night shift here. It’s my store’s most… peculiar aspect. We close at 6pm, but we open again at 11, up until 5am. Then we open again at 10am. So when I said ‘nap’ earlier, I actually meant the first half of my night, since I am working both shifts. Yes, I live in my store. Please buy books instead of reading stuff on the Internet, I would really love to be able to afford another employee.

So there I was, counting money fully on autopilot, daydreaming about drinking a nice cup of herbal tea and hugging my pillow, when Alice said something that ruined my plans.

“I forgot to tell you, something weird happened when you were on break.”

I snapped out of my daydream instantly and shot her a questioning glare.

“Yeah, this old lady came in, looking for something about fairy tales. I showed her the section but she didn’t want to have a look there apparently, and she asked me about something from the back. And I was like ‘do you think we’re hiding books from our customers or something’ so I just told her everything we had was on display in the store but we could order any book we didn’t have if she wanted. And she just shook her head and mumbled something and then she handed me this pamphlet and I was like ‘okay feel free to look around’ and didn’t even look at the pamphlet before shoving it in my pocket because a kid entered the store holding an open juice box and that was a disaster waiting to happen so yeah but that was weird right?”

She had actually run out of breath by the end of her sentence, and I wasn’t surprised. I was pissed though.

“Alice for FUCKS sake. Give me the pamphlet, don’t look at it. I’ll write that you were fired because of the store’s financial situation and give you a glowing recommendation.”

All color drained from the young girl’s face. I wasn’t mad at her, but I was still mad. She was supposed to know the rules. Hell, I even had her train the temps we hired to help around Christmas time. In retrospect, it was a miracle nothing bad had happened.

Okay, I was slightly mad at her. But I really didn’t want to be.

I saw in her eyes that it had finally clicked. She understood the gravity of what she had done, and handed me a crumpled pamphlet from her pocket, making sure to avert her gaze. God damn it. She had one momentary lapse, and it cost me a good cashier. Fucking hell.

“I’m sorry…” she started.

“It’s okay Alice, you didn’t mean to. You were alone on the floor, she was an old bat, it could’ve happened to anyone. You’ll be missed around here, but please don’t visit.”

She nodded. She finally remembered the rules, and she understood that there was no other way.

I put the cash drawer in the safe while she gathered the stuff she had left in the break room. I opened the back door to light a cigarette. She had tears in her eyes as she exited the store. I gave her a smile and clasped her hands in mine.

“You were a good employee, Alice. You’ll do great in a regular bookstore. Don’t doubt yourself and avoid this street for a few weeks. Call me if you run into any trouble, okay?”

“Thank you for the opportunity, boss. I really loved working here.”

“I know you did. Now hurry home. Don’t answer to anyone knocking on your door. Be safe.”

She nodded and scurried away, her backpack bouncing with her steps. I crammed my half-finished cigarette into the already-full-but-I-keep-forgetting-to-empty-it ashtray and went back inside.

The pamphlet was sitting on top of the safe, and as I grabbed it I felt the urge to read it. Nope. In the bin you go. I was accustomed to those old tricks. First rule of working with my clientele is to know when you can’t trust your instincts because something’s fucking with them. Second rule is to trust your instincts. Confusing? Welcome to my life.

So I ended up sitting at my desk typing furiously on my computer instead of napping. I still had a few hours until night shift, but I absolutely had to start interviewing prospective employees in the next couple days – in the meantime I just had to hope one of my part-time employees would like to work a few extra hours. I just have too much work to spend all my time manning the register and keeping the tables neat. While the store isn’t that big, it still is a lot for one person.

I obviously had to update the employee rulebook as well. Just emphasize that you can’t take chances with crazy old people. You never know if they’re truly crazy or something else.

“Never accept anything a customer hands you directly if it’s not (real) money. If they’re promoting something, make them leave any cards, pamphlets, posters at the register. If you end up accepting whatever they gave you, don’t look at it, and come to me immediately.”

Yes, it’s weird. I know it’s weird. Look, I pay my employees a fair enough wage that they make sure to follow the rules. I don’t care if they think I’m crazy. I probably am. It doesn’t matter.

I pressed enter and added:

“If a customer asks if they can see what we have in the back, politely decline and offer them to order whatever book they need. If they persist, come get me.”

God damn it, Alice actually handled this part well. But she grabbed the pamphlet, and I had to protect her.

I don’t write the rules to make my employees better workers. I write them to make sure they survive. The main reason any infraction is cause for termination is that, well, it could be the cause for the actual termination of their existence on Earth. Getting fired from a job is a way better alternative.

Alice accepted the old lady’s pamphlet. It could’ve been anything else. A tissue, a cigarette, a glass of water. She unknowingly made a bargain with whatever the woman was. ‘I gave you something, now I’m free to take something’. Entities like the old lady abide by archaic rules. In a store, this is what applies. I lost a regular day customer that way. The poor lady was watching over her kid, who was merrily making a mess looking through the 3-5 years old section, when a young girl came up to her. “Look miss, look I made a drawing”, she said. My customer grabbed the piece of paper and the girl ran off. A couple days later, posters popped up everywhere in town for a missing toddler.

I was obviously pissed. I’d been waiting to see that little girl again and tell her that business rules applied only between merchant and customers and she had no right to force an innocent, unaware person into a contract. My night clientele is well aware of that, and treasure having a place to find literature enough to not risk jeopardizing the fragile balance between both worlds. Nonhumans can be facetious little shits though, and I’ve never seen that girl again. Some entities enjoy chaos just for the sake of it. This one just danced around the rules, grabbed what she wanted, and ruined two lives. My customer sank into a deep depression and ended up gouging her eyes out during a manic episode. Her toddler was never found, but I don’t think he will grow up to be a respectable, human adult.

I checked the time and decided I could get 2 hours of sleep before having to get the store ready for night shift. So obviously I went to check out who – or what – was knocking on the glass window near the entrance because who needs sleep anyway.

It was an old lady, her wrinkled bloated nose pressed against the glass, her skeletal fingers tapping against it in a rhythmical fashion that was getting on my nerves. She had piercing, blood-injected eyes that were fixed on me and a grin so large it couldn’t possibly be natural.

I didn’t have time to be scared, but I still felt the fear creeping up on my stomach, slowly making its way through my body. No matter how hard I tried to reject it, I couldn’t. Stupid human nature. I adorned my best customer service smile and walked up to the old lady.

“My apologies, you seem to be a bit early. We will be open for business at eleven.”

I didn’t need to yell. I knew she could hear me clearly in spite of the glass separating us.

One… two… three taps on the window. Her already impossibly wide grin grew even wider, revealing rotten teeth sticking out of black, putrid gums. Thick, yellowish saliva was dripping down in strands from her non-existent lips. By the time the corners of her mouth reached her temples, I was sure I would lose my fake confidence and run in the opposite direction. No matter how many times you deal with unnatural entities, being mere centimeters away from a nightmarish mouth full of rot and decay will shake you to your core. I tried to breathe calmly, being secretly thankful for the glass that separated me from what was probably the foulest smell I’d ever submitted my nose to, hoping the old lady would see me standing my ground and respect the rules of business. I could deal with her inside my bookstore, where she would be a customer. I just needed to stay brave and meet her transfixed, unwavering gaze. Her eyes were more blood vessels than pupils, and I found myself focusing on those instead of whatever was moving in her mouth. I did not want to see her tongue, not after seeing the state of her teeth. And I sure as hell did not want to see whatever I clearly caught moving around her mouth if it wasn’t her tongue. No, her eyes were scary but I could deal with them, no matter how unsettling it was to see them bulge in and out of her head in a slow motion, almost as if they were breathing. The glass became foggier and foggier on her side due to her heavy, animalistic panting, but I kept my gaze straight, only catching glimpses of fog and movement in my peripheral visions. If I were to treat her like an animal, I needed to assert myself as the alpha. I don’t yield to rude, entitled customers, and I wouldn’t yield to rude, entitled nonhumans breaching the unspoken contract that allowed them to enjoy my store.

After what felt like forever, she stopped tapping on the window. Her grin reverted back to a normal, almost friendly smile. She blinked, soggy wrinkled eyelids covering those eyes I had stared at for far too long.

“I guess I’ll see you when you’re open, then”. In spite of the glass panel separating us, I felt her putrid breath against my ear as she whispered her parting words.

Just like that, she turned and left.

Understandably, I was not looking forward to seeing her during the night shift. My regular customers were unsettling enough, I did not want to add the batshit-insane-nightmarish-grandma to the list.

I’m a business owner. The customer may not be always right, but they are always my priority. I will have to open tonight, because while some may not consider books to be a necessity, I guarantee you that it is vital not only for my business, but for some of my night customers that I open every night. I complain about my life a lot, but some of them face issues they can’t simply look up on the internet nor ask a friend or even a therapist. They may urgently need something from the night inventory, and I will do my best to provide it for them. I’ve always loved being a bookseller, but helping nonhumans find whatever fits their very specific needs has given me a sense of purpose I’m not ready to give up just yet.

I will open tonight. And I will protect my business and its rules, to ensure that I can open tomorrow night.

(Note: edited some words to fit in with the location LOL)

[uta-no-knb]

God day! Can I ask scenario about Akashi tell his girlfriend about his mother, his childhood and his disorder?

Hello! Yes you can!! I did research which is why this took so long. 

Key points

This takes place your second year of university. You met Akashi during your first year. 

Let’s Begin!

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

Take a deep breath you said to yourself, as you stood in front of the Akashi manor. You can do this.

Your boyfriend texted you, asking you to come over to discuss something. With your boyfriend being one to discuss serious topics in person rather than text, it made you anxious. Was he moving? Or worse...was he going to break up with you. 

Just ring the doorbell. It’s so easy, just push the button and... You stopped yourself, your hand shaking as it hovered over the doorbell. I...I can’t do it-

“L/N-chan.”

You jumped in surprise as you saw your boyfriend staring right at you, with the door opened. He was wearing a red button down shirt-with the first three buttons undone-with a black tie hanging loosely around his neck. He paired the shirt with black slacks. 

“Hi Akashi-kun.”

He raised an eyebrow, confused as to why you look like you saw a ghost. “Come on in,” he said, ushering you in. After taking your shoes off, he took your hand and led you towards the family room.

He used my last name....that’s really not a good sign. You sighed softly, unaware that the redhead heard you. 

The moment you reached the room, the both of you headed towards one of the couches. you noticed two empty glasses and a pitcher of water sitting on the coffee table. Akashi sat down, releasing your hand. “Please sit.”

Pressing your lips together you sat down next to him, placing your hands on your lap, not meeting his eyes. 

The silence between you two was tense and thick, making both of you uncomfortable.

“You look nice today.”

You raised an eyebrow at him; you were wearing black leggings, paired with a (F/C) Oversized hoodie with your university name on it. Your hair was in a messy bun and to add to your chaotic look, you were wearing two different colored socks. 

“I actually look like shit, but thanks I guess,” you shrugged. “You could’ve dressed more casual you know.” 

“I apologize, I came from a meeting,” he said taking off his tie and placing it on the table. “Would you like anything to eat? Or drink?” He asked as he started to pour water into one of the glasses

“Please,” you started, startling the redhead, “If you’re going to break up with me, just do it. Don’t prolong this because its not fai-”

“What are you talking about?” He cocked his head to the side with a look of confusion on his face as he placed the pitcher down. “Why would I breakup with you? What makes you say that?”

“W-Well, you called me by my last name, which you rarely do unless its something serious...and what can be more serious than a breakup?”

Akashi reached out and grabbed one of your hands, rubbing his thumb over it. “I’m sorry if it came across that way.” You looked up at him as he continued, “But this is a serious conversation that I want to have with you.”

“O-okay. What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, he began, “You’ve opened up to me about your past, and I know a lot about you. And it doesn’t feel right that you know nothing about me.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, “I do know stuff about yo-”

“I’m not talking about the basic parts. I’m referring to my past and...a part of me that I’m ashamed of.”

Sei-Chan.....is opening up? You looked at him and saw a mixture of fear and uncertainty in his eyes. “Go ahead,” you said, “I’m listening.”

Taking a deep breath, he turned to face you. “Alright.”

“As you know, my mother passed away when I was in my fifth year of elementary school from an illness. I wish you could’ve met her,” he said with a slight chuckle, “Since my father was strict with me, and wanting me to succeed in every area possible, my mother was the only one who supported me emotionally. She’s the one who got me into basketball.”

“She sounds like an amazing person, Seijuro.”

He nodded, “She was. She was the kindest woman, and strong willed since she dealt with my father. When she passed, my father became more strict and I was never truly happy. With her gone, my childhood was very limited. However, basketball made me feel closer to her. I was surprised when my father allowed me to play...as long as I won.

“When I attended Teiko, I was one of the few first years to ever be a part of the first string, and after a short time, I was promoted to captain; it was hard, but it was worth it. It was during my second year that the “Kiseki no Sedai” was formed, and it was during that time that the other members were advancing their skills and their egos except for me.”

Their skills? You asked yourself. If their skills were developed since middle school...what the hell were they like before?!

“One day, the team was starting to slowly fall apart; Aomine skipped practice, which then led to Murasakibara questioning why he couldn’t skip as well. This of course led to an argument which ended up turning into a one on one match between the two of us. Due to our height difference, he managed to push me back, and it was at that time that I realized I would lose. I never lose; I’ve never lost in my entire life. The Akashi family can never lose and I didn’t want to shame my family name.”

You saw Akashi fiddle with his hands; it was a rare sight to see him nervous and...unsure. He’s always so calm and collected...this was a first for you. 

“However, something happened that day and...I ended up winning. I obtained a new skill, the Emperor eye and that was when....I changed. I was more cold toward everyone; I was confident to the point I was rude, yet the team listened to me and respected me. It was during our third year that I emotionally hurt Kuroko. We were all at nationals and we faced his good friend. When Kuroko got injured, I prevented his friend from seeing him, guaranteeing our team's victory. I then advised the other miracles to not hold back. We ended up crushing the other team....and crushed the spirit of his friend. This resulted in Kuroko disappearing; he was hurt by us.” He paused, as his grip slightly tightened around your hand. 

You placed your hand on top of his and rubbed it with your thumb. “Take your time. I have nowhere to be.”

Taking a deep breath, Akashi continued, “At the end of the year, Kise, Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara and myself all made an oath to face each other on the court, since we all ended up going to different schools.,” he saw you start to open your mouth but he cut you off, “Please let me finish. I want you to know everything before you question me.”

You nodded and he proceeded. “I was superior...I was better than everyone. When I entered Rakuzan, I quickly became captain, and just like during my third year of middle school, treated my teammates the same way; being arrogant and calling everyone by their first name without the proper suffix-even to my senpais. I was focused on having powerful teammates, winning at every cose, and not caring about training or hard work, which I always used to believe in. 

“When it came time for the Winter Cup, the six of us met up before the opening ceremony; however I wasn’t expecting Kagami Taiga being there. It was then, that I attacked him with scissors-”

“Okay, I’m sorry but how did you get scissors?”

“...They were Midorima’s lucky item of the day and I told him I needed to cut my hair, but that’s irrelevant. Please, just listen.”

“Sorry, proceed.”

“I gathered everyone there to make sure they remembered the oath we made. I hadn’t heard from Kuroko since middle school, but I knew he would follow the oath...and I was right. Kuroko ended up beating Murasakibara, Aomine and Kise; my team managed to take down Midorima. I told him that victory is everything and that I willingly wanted to be his enemy. I remember when he told me I still had not changed. What he didn’t know was that I had changed; my abilities had developed further.” 

Once again, Akashi paused, and you gave his hand a light squeeze. “Go on, Seijuro.”

“It was time for Kuroko and myself to face off.  It was going well, we were winning and Kuroko’s ability of misdirection was wearing off due to Mayuzumi-san being Rakuzan’s misdirection specialist...until he gained it back.  During the game, I started to get frustrated with my teammates and slowly started to lose faith in them; eventually I started to play by myself. This led me to obtain the ability to enter the Zone, where my abilities increased.

Unfortunately, like before, Kuroko and Seirin had the upper hand, and the same feeling I felt back at Teiko came back...I was mentally damaged by Seirin’s duo.They...broke my victory-sealing trump card; they defeated my ankle break move. I messed up the rhythm I had made for my team.  I remember what Mayuzumi-san said to me...”

~~Flashback~~~

“What a disgrace,” Mayuzumi said, looking at Akashi. 

The three Uncrowned Kings gasped in shock; never have they heard someone talk to their captain like that. 

“Did you think we’d comfort you or cheer you up? We’d never do something like that. You made all those pompous statements, but this is all you’ve got? I can’t believe that. You’re nothing like the guy I first met on the school roof. More like...

~~~~~~

“...who the hell are you. Those words struck a chord with me...I kept asking myself who I was. I had flashbacks of my mother...of my childhood. It was then that....I faced my other half; the true me. I realized that I enjoyed those days when I could play as much as I want to with my teammates...my friends. I wanted my inferior side...this side of me.. to stay locked away...But only seeking victory, abandoning everything else...I lost sight of why I wanted to stand strong. I couldn’t hold back the urge to win against Kuroko and Seirin...and I regained control. My team forgave me...and while we ended up losing, it was fun to play the sport again.” 

Mayuzumi-san.... You tried to remember who he was. You remembered your best friend forcing you to watch the game with them-even though you weren’t quite paying attention (you were just there to socialize). You knew who the other three members were...and you vaguely recall Akashi talking about him...Oh! He was the quiet one! 

“After hearing this, I will not blame you for leaving. Even if I’m no longer the other me, I still shouldn’t have the privilege of having you. You don’t deserve to have someone messed up like me” Akashi looked to you, indicating that he had finished. 

“So...let me get this straight,” you started, “Up until your third year of middle school, you were, who I will call “Boku-shi.....then you changed to this “Ore-shi” persona”

Bokushi? Oreshi?

“.....only to return to being ‘Boku-shi’ after losing against Kuroko?”

“I guess... yea,” he slightly stuttered. 

“So...you pretty much suffered from a form of Dissociative Identity Disorder,” you asked, getting a nod from the redhead. “And that is why you think I don’t deserve you?”

 He nodded once again, looking away from you this time. “You don’t think I’m crazy for having a conversation with my other persona?” 

You shook your head. “That persona of yours...it wasn’t your fault. It was due to the disorder. It is usually caused by any trauma during one’s early childhood; in your case, it was the emotional abuse from your father as well as the death of your mother-” 

“By then...I may have already started to be torn apart.”

“And when you add the stress from falling behind your friends and almost losing...you were torn apart even further.”   

“I had to stay the strongest so that I could continue to play with them, which is why my other half  was born” Akashi’s voice rose as he yanked his hand away from yours, clutching it into a fist. “I tried to keep them together by winning..those who were irreplaceable. That was the only way I knew how. That weakness was what created him! I was weak!”

You froze. You had never seen your boyfriend like this...vulnerable and open. His past really is haunting him. Now I see why he wanted to talk to me in person about this. You placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Sei-chan, please look at me?” 

Hearing you call him by his nickname, he looked up at you 

Your hand slipped from his shoulder, and you started to rub his back. “Thank you for opening up to me. I know this must have been hard for you. I appreciate you being vulnerable with me, but you have nothing to worry about; I’m not going anywhere.”

“W-what?” he jerked back, “But what I did...it was wrong and disrespectful-”

“And it was all in the past,” you cut him off. “Leave the past in the past. What’s done is done. Besides, you regained your friends after this ordeal right? You lead them to victory against those douchebags from America-”

“But he came back during that match,” he said, being the one to cut you off. “I willingly allowed him to return because we were going to lose. Everyone played hard, and I wasn’t going to let my fear hold us back.” He sighed and looked down again, “It didn’t really matter, my other half was no match against them.”

“...Then...how did you win?” You asked, “If you were too weak to deal with the loss, and your other half couldn’t do it...then how did you win?”

“...We merged. We worked together, and helped our team win.” he briefly paused, “But he’s still there and he could come back-”

“Akashi...your friends accepted you again right? After all the stuff that happened, they let you back in. Part of him will always be with you, yes-I’m pretty sure they all know that. However, you overcame him...your weakness....you did that by yourself...you controlled him. You might show some of his traits here or there....but there’s a good chance he won’t be coming back.” You scooted closer to him and kissed his cheek. “It’s going to take a lot to scare me off, Akashi Seijuro.”

Akashi couldn’t help the smile that came across his face; he placed a quick kiss on your lips and brought you into a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered, smiling wider as he felt your arms hug him back. 

Breaking the hug, he looked you in the eyes. “How did you know what to say? How did you know what it was?”

“Sei-chan, I'm a psych major,” you chuckled, “I kinda have to know these things. Two different personalities is a sign of DID; however, usually people don’t remember what happened when they let their other personas take over...so yours is a unique case.” You took out your phone and began typing away. 

“....What are you doing?”

“Making a note to ask my professor if there’s a proper term for your condition. Don’t worry, I won't mention anything personal-just that you were able to remember what you did as your other persona took over.” 

“You better not mention my name, or else.”

“I won't, I promise.” 

“Tell me, why aren’t you surprised. Don’t tell me it’s because you’re a psych major-this is a serious condition. How does it not bother you.” 

You put your phone down and looked at him, “Because I suffer from mental illnesses too.” Akashi looked at you in surprise. “I suffer from Anxiety and depression. So no, mental illness don’t bother me.”

“So that means you-“

“No, I don’t self-harm,” you started cutting off Akashi’s thought. “Whenever I get depressed, I just get sad and quiet. I usually want to be alone...yet I also want comfort.” 

“I see. That’s good to know,” he smiled. “I’ll make sure to do just that.” 

 You smiled back at him. “But I’m curious...how did your teammates know when your persona took over?”

“...my eyes changed colors; one was gold and the other was red.”

You leaned closer to his face and smiled, “Well, whatever color your eyes are, I’ll still love them the same.”

He smiled and, cupping your face, brought you into a kiss.

~~~~~~

BONUS

“So Akashi finally told you, huh?” Kagami said, taking a bite out of his burger. 

You nodded, as Akashi took your hand and gave it a light squeeze. 

Earlier, Akashi was invited to a game with his old teammates and Kagami and he brought you along. You never got to see them play as a team-or half a team since it was 3 on 3- and you were in complete amazement; their teamwork was spot on and...you got to see the smile of your boyfriend, having fun. Now, the lot of you were sitting at Maji Burger, the boys catching up with each other.

“...And you’re still with him?”

The smile faded from Akashi’s face, only to be surprised when you flicked the salt container at Aomine, hitting his right in the middle of his forehead. 

“Of course I am,” you responded, ignoring the complaints coming from the blue haired male. “The past doesn’t define a person, it's the present that does. Sei is a good man with a good heart.”

“But...are you really prepared for his ‘mom mode’?” Aomine grinned, still rubbing his head. 

You looked at your boyfriend, “‘Mom mode’?” 

“Back at Teiko, I was considered the ‘team mom’ while Nijimura-senpai was the ‘team dad’.”

“Yup! Your boyfriend was a nagging mom!” Aomine laughed. “Kuroko, get up and go sit down. Midorima, you can’t have your lucky item on the court. Murasakibara, put down the bag of sweets. Kise, stop staring at your fangirls! He literally nagged everyone except me!”

“Not true, Aomine-kun. If anything, you were the one he nagged to the most.”

“W-what? Tetsu!”

“He’s right, nanodayo! ‘Aomine, you can’t leave practice.”

“Aomine, you can’t have your magazines on the bench.”

“Aomine-cchi, you’re at practice-get off the bench and get on the court.”

“Aomin-”

“Alright! I get it! Enough!!” he pouted, as the whole table bursted out laughing. 

The laughter died down and the group talked about memories from their middle school and high school years. 

You looked over at your boyfriend, and couldn’t help but smile; seeing him smile....seeing him genuinely happy...you were happy that he regained his friends trust...and you knew that If his other persona shows up...

“Akashi-chií! How could you say that?!”

“He’s not wrong though. You do need to settle down you know.”

“But shouldn’t he grow up some more first?” 

“Kuroko-cchi! Mean-ssu!”

...Akashi will still be accepted.

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

And there you have it! I hope it was to your liking; i was up til 2 am this morning writing it. 

Until next time!

~Orca

[milkshake-at-pops]

Tour of the Heart:Chapter Four

chapter 3/masterpost/chapter 5

let us know if you want to be tagged! and enjoy the fic

Television appearances were part of the big life Archie had always wanted, but it didn’t mean he had to enjoy them. Fortunately, this was a short interview, just a youtube video to go with an article. He’d barely be on stage for an hour. Still, the cameras and lights were a lot for Arch. He was a former jock, after all, and the spotlight was never his strong suit.

Veronica gave him a smile from her chair, keeping her head perfectly still so that the makeup team could do their job. Archie was trapped in a similar situation, trying not to sneeze at the powders. Well, if he could sing and play guitar onstage, talking in front of a camera shouldn’t be too difficult.

A woman with a high blond ponytail pulled up a chair from an empty makeup stand to sit in front of them. “Hi, I’m Betty Cooper and I’ll be interviewing you both today.”

“Betty Cooper? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I might know you from somewhere,” Archie said, trying to puzzle what it was about her that was familiar. She didn’t look like anyone from Chicago, but maybe Littleton? Definitely a small-town vibe, and he hadn’t talked to people from his childhood home in years.

Betty looked surprised by the fact, her mouth dropping into a small o. “I think our mothers might have known each other… you’re Mary’s son, right?, I’m Alice Cooper’s daughter.” Something in her tone made Archie think that she was planning on this, but Veronica cut off his response.

“Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but aren’t you supposed to be going over the questions we’ll be asked and how much we can promote the tour? I really want to know what the planned length for this segment is,” Veronica said, and Archie realized they were on in ten minutes. Thank goodness for Veronica and her ability to keep things on track.

“Oh, right!” Betty didn’t look too happy with being asked to do her job. “It will be a three to five minute segment, and we want to discuss the tour as well as what goes on behind the scenes. Our readers are very interested in your…friendship.”

“Sounds great,” Archie said, giving her the smile that earned him more than one eggplant emoji comment. “I haven’t seen you in forever, since middle school, I think?”

“It’s been a while, yeah. A lot has happened since you left for the Windy City,” Betty said, smiling. “I can’t believe our paths are crossing again, after so long! Are you excited about the tour?”

“Yeah, but um… shouldn’t we save those questions for the interview?” Archie said, noticing the look Veronica was shooting him. She was all business during things like this, and this was a big interview. Him socializing was probably getting on her nerves.

“You’re right,” Betty said, thinking for a second. “How is your mother? I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to ask that during the interview.” She smiled, and Archie returned it. Veronica half-listened, playing on her phone to distract herself.

“She’s doing well, just got a promotion at the firm,” Archie said, “She’s really busy lately, but she says she’ll still find time to see me on tour.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, I loved your mother.” Betty’s eyes were wide, and she looked from Archie to Veronica as if thinking about something very different from Archie’s mother. In an undertone, she asked, “Friend to friend, are you and Veronica-?”

“-We’re on in five,” Veronica interrupted, shooting both Betty and Archie a glare. “And for the record, I’d prefer we keep questions about our personal lives to a minimum. This is a promotion for the tour, after all.”

“Thank you, Veronica. Anyways, Archie, how was high school?” Betty managed to keep up the small talk with Archie until they were on, much to Veronica’s displeasure.

Veronica and Archie got their own microphones and took their seats on the small white couch. Betty sat next to them, fumbling with her microphone as she sat down.

“Hey, you guys should um, sit closer together,” she said to Archie. “Headset says it’s not clear who’s the celebrity.” Veronica didn’t think Betty had said anything into her small earpiece in all the time she had been talking to Archie.

They shuffled around in their seats, and the cameraman counted down to them going live. The Enquirer wanted to shoot a live version first, then edit into small clips for the article. It was streaming on Youtube as well, which didn’t help Archie’s nerves, his palms were already sweaty.

“Hello there, I’m Elizabeth Cooper, reporter for the Enquirer, here today with Veronica Lodge and Arch Andrews. We’re here today to talk about Veronica’s upcoming tour and her album by the same name, ‘Pretty Game.’ So, Veronica, what are you most looking forward to for touring with Archie here?” Her eyes went from the teleprompter to the cards in her hand, and she faced Veronica completely, still holding that wide smile.

“I’m looking forward to seeing an audience react to my songs,” Veronica said, giving the camera a small smile before turning back to Betty. “I love my fans, and I’ve gotten to perform a song here and there at clubs, but I’ve never had that concert atmosphere. I’m so excited to have thousands of people singing my songs along with me. I’ve never had that before.”

“Wow, and Arch here is just tagging along?” Betty asked, attempting a sort of canned humor. She wasn’t looking at the cards, and Archie caught two producers whispering angrily at one another.

“No, I get to perform my own songs, and of course help support Veronica on and off the stage. I’m really looking forward to it, I’ll get to meet some of my own fans as well,” Archie answered, silently grateful that his voice hadn’t faltered. Was it normal to be this nervous? Veronica wasn’t, and Betty was the opposite of nervous right now-Archie’s memories of her were foggy, but he recalled that she tended to bite her lip when she was scared.

“Speaking of that support,” Betty said, looking at a card in her hand, “apparently there’s a small but very dedicated group of fans who claim to support ‘varchie.’ What do you guys have to say for that?”

Archie felt the knots tighten in his stomach, he wasn’t ready to discuss this. Veronica saw his shocked face and stepped in. “Well, we’re great friends, of course, but there’s really nothing happening here. Archie’s like a brother to me, he’s been helping me with songs since my Youtube days.”

“Really? Tell me more about how you two met,” Betty said, her eyes a little too wide for Veronica’s liking. “Archie, what do you remember?”

Sitting in the metaphorical, but somewhat literal hot seat, Archie answered, “I saw one of her covers online, and I thought, ‘Wow, she can sing!’ So I messaged her-on Instagram, right?” He looked at Veronica for support. She gave him a nod.

“Sliding into the DMs, Arch Andrews? I didn’t know you were such a stud,” Betty teased, but Archie barely heard a word she said.

“I mean, I believe the first thing he sent me was ‘you have a really nice voice, how do you do it?’ I started out giving him voice tips, and he helped me figure out how to write my own songs and move beyond covers,” Veronica answered curtly. She tapped her watch and made eye contact with the cameraman, mouthing “Time?” He answered with three fingers.

Three minutes. “Is there anyone else in the picture for either of you?” Betty asked, looking directly at Archie.

“No, not at the moment. I don’t think I could keep a, um, girlfriend during tour.” Archie almost said “girlfriend or boyfriend” before remembering that he did not want to come out to his childhood friend on live television when he had no idea how receptive she was to queer people (Littleton was a small town) and she had just spent the last couple minutes implying that he and Veronica were dating.

“What about a girlfriend who stayed on the tour bus with you?” Betty asked, giving Veronica a not-so-subtle look.

“Well, I mean, my friend Cheryl Blossom is tagging along, but I’m pretty sure she’s a lesbian,” Veronica said, smiling at Betty.

Betty was speechless for a good five seconds. Veronica was more than a little pleased with her reaction. She fumbled for her cards, looking for something neutral to move on to. “Veronica, I love your…hair. What’s your secret? It’s so, uh, fluffy.”

“Um, it’s nothing, just a little dry shampoo, thanks to your awesome hair and makeup team here,” Veronica said, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear.

The topic stayed far away from romance for the rest of the interview, and the Enquirer got all the clips that it needed. The producers gave Betty a thumbs-up from behind the camera, and they all waved goodbye before the camera turned off.

Archie slumped over in his seat. “Let’s never do another interview again, Ronnie.”

“Good plan,” Veronica said in an undertone, shooting a glance at Betty as she got up from the couch and walked away. “She hasn’t changed much since high school, that’s for sure.”

“You went to highschool with Betty?” Archie asked. “That’s so weird.”

“It’s a small world. You knew her when you guys were like, kids, right?” Veronica stood up from the couch. “We should get going.”

“Our parents were friends, yeah. I don’t remember her very much, I left for Chicago after middle school. We were never super close. What was she like in high school?” Archie asked, following Veronica out of the studio.

“Really studious, always writing. She was my friend for a bit, we were ‘B and V’ but it didn’t really last. Betty tended to get on my nerves sometimes, and I wasn’t a fan of a lot of the stuff she did,” Veronica said, mostly apathetic about the topic.

“That makes sense, I don’t think I want to get back in touch with her,” Archie said, shrugging.

“Hey, she’s the one interviewing us, not the other way around,” Veronica said, opening the door to the studio.

Archie breathed in the fresh air. “I can’t wait for the tour.”

“Me neither.”

[mithfics]

Pass It On: Avarice (Day 1) (slow TG)

MONDAY      Sometimes I wondered if they were trying to send a message to me.      It wasn’t likely; being low on the totem pole at a financial office usually meant the higher ups couldn’t care less who you were, let alone what desk you were assigned to on the main floor, so long as you were courteous toward the customers and got them to sign up for loans at absurd rates that you knew full well weren’t fair and probably shouldn’t be legal. But still, what sort of indignity was this?      The faint sound of laughter grew a bit clearer as Paul, my older brother, stepped out of the office on the east side of the main room of the office we both worked at, an office door my desk had the luxury of facing directly. He was shaking hands with one of the regional managers here, and some well-off looking client that Paul had probably swung a “great deal” with. They walked across the floor, not even acknowledging us desk jockeys.      I sighed; what a start to the week. Paul was my brother, and I loved him, but these past couple of years things had gone in such a strange direction. We had both begun working at this office together soon after our undergrad years, each starting at the bottom despite our strong credentials and academic accomplishments in math and financial literacy, but Paul had the gift of gab and an outgoing demeanor; I wasn’t exactly a shut-in, myself, but Paul had always been quick on his feet and knew how to butter people up just right. It wasn’t like he was using people, but he just had a charisma I couldn’t quite tap into. I had long admired that about him and had been proud when I heard he was getting a small promotion so early in our tenure here, figuring it was just the beginning for him, but it felt like something about this office had changed him in a way I couldn’t really put my finger on; I was afraid it was pulling us apart. I could feel it any time I saw him come out of that east room office, forced to watch him gladhand and rise up the ranks while I still sat at the same swivel chair I had been led to on my first day. In all honesty I wasn’t jealous of him; I think I was more concerned than anything else.      “Yo, Pete!” his voice grew closer as he confidently strode up toward my desk. “We still good for Friday? Lindsey wants to try the new tap room by the waterfront, that should be easy to get to.”       Lindsey was my sister-in-law, a sales pro at a firm across town and Paul’s pretty college sweetheart; soon after his promotion the two had gotten hitched, figuring he was well on his way up the ladder of success and that she’d be there soon, as well. “Yeah, man, definitely.” I was happy to see them, but it always tugged at me to see how readily Paul could pay for rounds at the bar while I was still cobbling my savings together and fretting more about my student loans than he was. They sure had a lot going for them.      “Great, dude!” He gave my shoulder a playful smack. “We’ll head over together when we clock out, she’ll meet us there. You seeing anybody lately? Feel free to bring them.” He walked off before I could even mention that, no, I wasn’t seeing anybody right now, that my last girlfriend and I had broken up a month ago, but it felt like no use.       I rubbed a hand across my face; Paul was still my brother, he could still be a buddy, and I loved him, but I knew what had been bugging me. It was this office, this firm, this entire industry; both of us had been so good at this stuff that we figured the financial and banking worlds were right for us, and I threw myself at the work with abandon while Paul coasted by a bit more on his personality and charm. Needless to say I was getting worn out, but I couldn’t leave the job: my parents had helped me get to this point, and part of holding onto this job was about paying them back some of the money they had wired me during my college and first work years, and maybe helping them with some bills along the way, trying to do right by the people who had gotten me where I was now. I also couldn’t just walk away from the health benefits that came with this gig, not to mention the aforementioned albatross that was my student loans, but given the workload and the often predatory nature of some of the loans this place gave out, I was keeping my eyes out for other, hopefully more ethical, opportunities to appear.       Paul, though...he didn’t have my hangups. Mom and dad didn’t seem to bother him much; I could always tell they figured he’d be the one to get out ahead, to be a big success, and they wanted to leave him alone to make his way up. The thing was, I knew about some of the less obvious deals this office was working on, knew that there were people being taken advantage of, groups that would never be able to pay things back fully, sweetheart giveaways to fat cats who would gladly let the rest of the industry burn so long as they got golden parachutes out of it all in the end, and my disgust over it kept me from wanting to associate very much with the office honchos. But Paul, he just plugged ahead, and as best I could tell didn’t let it bother him. He had to know full well what was going on here, and across the industry; he was too bright to be that oblivious. His ability to talk to people had put him in conversation with numerous managers and suits, and I couldn’t help but think that the promise of higher paydays, bonuses, and promotions had convinced him to go along to get along, to kind of sell out. He swore he wasn’t in on the bad stuff, and I believed him, but he was keeping the worst of it out of sight, out of mind, and pretending to ignore it was certainly beefing up his savings accounts. It stung to think about, and I had to believe it was why I was feeling a chasm opening between us of late. He had joked with me recently about applying the “Peter Principle”, the one about people moving up in the corporate world to a job where they’re not even good at it anymore; ironically, I was bright enough and good enough at my job that I’d probably be stuck behind a desk forever.      “Excuse me, sir?”     I realized I had been lost in thought and snapped to attention, aware of a customer’s presence. I went to respond, and almost literally choked on my words.     Standing in front of me was a vision I could hardly describe. Her face was gorgeous; it had a life and vivaciousness to it that undoubtedly made her stand out in a crowd...though the rest of her could do that, too. Long, silky dark hair was french braided at the top and allowed one long ponytail to swing down over her shoulder, which drew my eyes toward a chest that strained and hiked up her breasts so they were visible between the lapels of the stylish deep violet business jacket she wore, which in turn was cut high enough that a bit of her midriff was visible above her high-waisted grey mini skirt, which brought my line of vision around her cartoonishly proportioned hips and down her rounded, womanly, bare thighs and calves, ending at a pair of sexy but formal black pumps on her feet.     “Sorry, I-” I coughed and tried to pry my eyes away, feeling a bit of tearing in my eyes and forcing out a raspy “Please, take a seat.”      For her part, the mysterious new bombshell gave me a bright smile, smoothed out the rear of her skirt, eased into the chair across my desk and slowly lifted her right leg over her left. I couldn’t help but notice that her hips were wide enough that some of her rear came off the side of the seat, and that the angle she sat at was giving me a full view of her leg. This happened sometimes, people coming in for loans and hoping their looks might help their cases, but not everybody could carry it off like this. Her shape didn’t seem to be the product of some insane workout regimen or plastic surgery.     I took a sip of water from a nearby cup and tried again. “My apologies, I didn’t catch your name, Miss-?” I asked, holding out my hand.    “Ami.” she daintily placed her hand in mine, and I could swear I felt a slight tingle where her fingers met mine...wishful thinking, for sure. “Ami Lux.”     A quiet moment passed between us before I realized that my eyes were locked on hers: they were almond-shaped, but had a brightness to them that I wasn’t expecting, maybe a hint of mischief. Once again, I caught myself, withdrawing my hand and trying to get back to business. “And, uh, what can I help you with today, um, Miss Lux? That’s, uh, that’s an interesting name…”     She gave a soft giggle. “‘Ami’ is fine.” If my awkwardness was getting to her, she didn’t show it. “I’m looking around for a business loan. I have a few ideas that I’d love to put to the test, and I really think I could do something special with them.”     “May I ask what your ideas are, Miss?”      She reached into her purse and handed me a small business card of pretty nice quality, but which only had ‘Luxuria Enterprises’ emblazoned in a fancy font on it with some contact information. “Here’s one of my cards; I have more than one, but, well, what I’d like to do is a bit complicated.”      She was keeping things pretty vague to begin, which struck me a bit odd. Still,  the industry was always pushing to give loans out like candy; for the moment I had to swallow my problems with that and plug ahead. “That’s just fine, miss, but I do need to know a few basics before we begin. May I ask what your current employment status is?”     “Self-employed, but doing well…”      She was cut off as both of our attentions shot back toward the east room office; Paul was at it again, yukking it up with another one of the suits, probably getting invited to a weekend round of golf with the managers or something.      “Is something wrong?” Ami must have noticed a look on my face.      “No, why would there be?” I tried to act self-assured.      She giggled again, and I swear I could feel my pulse quicken a bit...what was I, twelve? Her voice got a bit low. “It’s just that’s about the third time you’ve zoned out since I got to your desk. Call me curious, but I’m pretty good at reading people; is everything alright?”      I felt slack-jawed for a few seconds; was I really being that obvious, or was this woman just really perceptive? I almost had to laugh in spite of myself. “Uh, well...that guy laughing over there is my big brother.”     “Wow, so you guys get to work together!”      I felt a pang of regret. “Well, same office, maybe not so much together.”     “Oh,” she put a hand down on my desk, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to butt in if there’s family trouble.”     “No, no, it’s fine,” I paused for a split second; why was starting to talk about this? I could feel more words tumble out of me, as if I couldn’t stop them. “He just kind of...my family always knew he’d do really well, and I feel left out sometimes. He’s got a lot of personality...I guess he knows how to kiss ass better than I do.” Where had THAT come from? I sensed my voice get lower in volume to match Ami’s. “Which isn’t so bad, but I just feel like he’s glad handing to get ahead and turning a blind eye to some sketchy stuff, so he make more money and...I guess it makes me feel like he’s not the same guy anymore.”     I hadn’t realized it during my absent-minded rambling, but Ami’s hand was now on top of mine. She leaned forward. I gulped what felt like a softball down my throat. “Say no more: I think I know what you’re getting at. The business world has a way of getting people to sell themselves out and forget what’s right, doesn’t it?” I looked up at her, our eyes once again meeting; her look was soft and caring, but I could swear there was something else there… “Tell you what, my ideas are a bit, let’s say, unconventional. My business ideas, I mean. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about them here. Think you’ll be free this Friday night?”     My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. In the back of my head I recalled Paul’s words about the new bar his wife wanted to try a few nights from now, but my immediate thoughts had completely focused on the voluptuous beauty in front of me. “Oh! Absolutely! I’ll be done here around 5:30.”     “That’s great! I’ll meet you here, and we can head someplace nice.” Once more she reached into her purse. “Just do me a favor, ok? I can sense you’re a really good, selfless person, and you want to do what’s right. I believe in good will being rewarded; I think you should take some time for a little self-care, not worry too much about keeping everybody else happy. So, just take this,” she handed me another card, “and do what it says, alright?” She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then moved toward my ear and whispered. “See you Friday.” My eyes bugged out as I felt her tongue run along my earlobe before she pulled away. I then gazed longingly at her plump behind as it sashayed toward the door, combining with the click of her heels to draw plenty of attention from my coworkers, male and female alike. Judging by the feeling in my pants, I probably wouldn’t be able to safely stand up from my desk for about an hour. Looking down, I regarded the card she gave me; much plainer, a bit more used looking than her business one. Flipping the small piece of paper over, I read a simple message in plain text.     ‘Pass It On.’      Below that was a series of letters; six of them were visible, spelling out gibberish, but one had what looked like a small hole punched through it. Huh; she talked about rewarding good will, is that what I should pass on? Felt like some feel-good self-help stuff, but I brushed the thoughts aside, slipped the card into my wallet, and suddenly felt a great rush come over me; I had a date coming up with the hottest woman I had ever laid eyes on, and I could barely comprehend how it had happened!

[traciedemars]

Pre-approvals....what you need to know,   Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes: Saturday, September 22nd, from 12pm-3pm (ish)        Vancouver YMCA, conference room        11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave) Saturday, October 6th , from 9am-12pm (ish)       Marshall Community Center, conference room       1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College) Saturday, October 20th, from 5pm-8pm (ish)      Marshall Community Center, conference room      1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College) If these class dates and/or times don't work for you, please let us know.  We understand that you have lives, and families, and work.  We will work something out that works better with your schedule.  Just let us know....                                                                                  ....we also have home seller classes available too...link on left on website                  Remember...with reservation...we will throw in lunch, or dinner!  :-D ~~~~~~~~~Happy ...well, whatever day it is!   What a month!  Yesterday, my youngest child started 3rd grade. I think I have started and stopped this email about 4 times in the last couple of weeks, but what with everything going on...  it kind of went on the back burner.   It's a different world from when I went to school... when I was at school, teachers had the last word on everything.  If a teacher called home, you were in trouble....if a teacher needed something...  it happened.  When my older kids were young, teachers still got what they needed …  now, I am not going to lie to you... I did have it out with my older daughters high school principal a few times!  Teachers though...  teachers I have the utmost respect for them.  When I was young, I wanted to be a teacher... I wanted to teach high school history and English. Yep, that was my goal when I was young... not a singer or a movie star... a teacher!  Of course, I am not a teacher... I am a Realtor, but I still teach....and I still help.    So, here we are...  another school year started, and all of the sudden we are in the last trimester of the year.  So here's to 'Happy Hallowthankmas' period time.     So this week let's talk about the what the steps are to buying a home?  This is where it gets crazy because most of us just don't know....you just kind of 'fall into it'...  You meet up with someone, and like a whirlwind romance, next thing you know you are in a 30 year commitment called a mortgage loan!     So....if you are thinking about buying a home, what are your steps?  What do you need to know before you start?     Well, that is what the Free Home Buyer Education Classes are for!  ....that, and this weekly blog anyhow!  :-D   The first step to buying a home is the home buyer education classes.     Did you know that more people will get education when buying a car than when buying a home? The classes are non-promotional, free, and meant to give home buyers a head start on the information they need to buying a home, and taking advantage of the state loan programs that are out there to HELP people buy a home!    Real Estate & Lending is all about 'verbiage' as we are 'taught' scripts to make things sound good for you, when in actuality...it may not be that great at all.  We do go over all of that, and try to make everything as clear as possible considering it starts off as mud.  :-)  As instructors of the classes we are volunteers, so while we HOPE that you will call us to help  you with your homebuying adventure, by no means do you have to.  :-)Buying a home, especially your first home, is such a big thing that sometimes it is hard to wait when we get the bug.  Buying a home is still the American dream, and gives us roots in a community.  It is the place where we raise our children, plant our gardens, paint our rooms, and show our personality.  A house isn't just a place of four walls and a door, but a home....and a place of dreams.  Knowing all of this as we do, when it comes to buying a home, patience isn't always our biggest virtue!    :-D     The second step in the home buying process is talking with a lender to  help you get pre-approved for a loan.     The reason why we say that talking to a lender is your second step is because while you don't go grocery shopping without knowing how much is in your bank account, you should never go looking at homes without knowing how much you can afford.  A lenders job is to pre-approve you for as much as they can, but that doesn't always mean that you can, or that you should, spend that much on purchasing a home.  We all have lives, and you don't want to be housepoor.  Make sure that you know your budget, and what is a comfortable amount for you to spend monthly on a mortgage.  Remember to make sure that you have enough for small things like eating out (ok....if you have my family it isn't a 'small' thing at all to eat out!), going to the movies, maybe going on a family trip....and let's not forget buying groceries and gas!  Also...as a homeowner, now you have other additional expenses and potential repairs to put aside for.  I always tell all my clients to put aside some money from every check into a 'special' account at a banking institution that you don't regularly frequent.  Maybe it is a credit union across town that is only open for 4 hours a day, but make sure you don't have a checkbook or a debit card for it.  It doesn't have to be a lot of money....maybe only $10-$20 per check, but this is your 'rainy day' fund...or really, the funds for any home repairs that will, eventually, come up.  Being a home owner does mean being prepared for home repairs that always happen at the worst possible time!  Home Warranties really are your best friend when buying a home...and yes, this is different than Homeowners Insurance (aka Hazard Insurance).  That will be a topic for another week. :-)     The rule of thumb though is to make sure that when you are looking for homes, after you get pre-approved, to make sure you are looking at homes with your buyers agent that you can afford, and not max out your budget!     Remember that not all lenders can access the downpayment assistance loans, so make sure that you are going through someone who can.  If you have any questions about that, please feel free to call, or email, Chris Berg @ Pinnacle Mortgage...503-320-0925 (he is local), and cberg@pcmloan.com .       When getting pre-approved, make sure to ask your lender if your pre-approval has already gone through the manual underwriters.  We are seeing more, and more people lately who, thinking they are pre-approved, go out and find a home, only to find out days before signing, that the manual underwriters are declining their loan!  This is terrible as this means that this family who have already packed up, given notice, and are ready to move....now have no loan, and therefore, no home!  I don't want that to happen to any of my clients, so as a buyers agent, when I am speaking with a lender, I always ask their lender if the buyers loan approval was sent to the manual underwriter, or if it is just a computer approval.  Having your pre-approval go through the manual underwriters, instead of just a computer approval, does take some more time, usually up to a week more, but in the end it is always better to be safe rather than sorry!     Please remember that your pre-approval is only good for 90 days, and yes, you will have to update it at the end of the process...usually when your file goes to underwriting for the final documents to sign.  Please continue to pay your bills (on time), please do not change work hours, please do not go out and buy appliances, do not get a personal loan for 'stuff for the house', do not go buy a car/truck/boat/etc.  If you have any questions, please talk with your lender first as all of these things can cause your loan to be declined...at the final step....which is awful for everyone.  Your pre-approval is NOT set in stone....  A pre-approval is a snap-shot of your 'current' financial situation, and if that changes...so can your pre-approval.  Your financial situation will be looked at by a myriad of different people, and scrutinized about 2-3 times by the underwriters...which are actually the people with the power.  Please remember to talk with your lender and real estate agent...we are here to help!  :-)     A pre-approval is good for a monthly mortgage payment amount...not a purchase price.  Your interest rate can not be locked in until about 30-45 days from closing/keys.  What this means is that the interest rate you are quoted at the time of pre-approval is merely a 'guesstimate'.  This part is always a bit strange, but your lender can't even start your actual loan process until you have a signed around contract on a home...signed (and agreed to) by the person with the legal authority to sell that home.  If interest rates go up in the process of buying your home, and your rate is not locked in, then your monthly mortgage payment will change...and so can your pre-approval.     Your buyers agent, and your lender should work together, and communicate with each other to help you through this process!  I know I say this all the time, but we work for YOU!  By working together we help you achieve your goal of your own home where you can kick your shoes off, turn on some football (ok, maybe that is just my house!), and relax!  A buyers agent and a lender should work together as a team, communicating with each other, and with you, every step of the way....that is what we are here for!  :-)   I also asked Chris Berg for some information on this email...There are three forms of approvals that you will see when you purchase a home. Prequalification, preapproval, and approval. A prequalification is not worth the paper it's printed on and most if not all sellers will not except a prequalification when you make an offer on a home. The reason for this is that a prequalification is basically just checking your credit but not verifying income or down payment or any of the other thousand things that can go wrong during the transaction. A preapproval covers all the things they seller needs to see. Not only does it verify your credit but also verifies your income, tax returns, W-2s, down payment, employment and address history, and rent payments. A preapproval is what you need in order to make an offer on a home. An approval is generally not achieved until you were under contract on a home. It verifies all the items in a preapproval but also includes the appraisal and preliminary title report on all borrowers and sellers. In order to get a preapproval you need to bring your lender your last two years tax returns, W-2s, last 30 days pay stubs, ID, and two months bank statements if you have a down payment. If you are seriously considering buying a home a preapproval, with most lenders, will not cost you any money and will allow you to deal with any issues well before you spend the money to make an offer on a home. No animals were harmed during the writing of this email. Thank you,  Chris BergMortgage Advisor with Pinnacle Capital MortgageMLO-198082503-320-0925 cellCberg@pcmloan.com Information is power,  and as always...May the odds be ever in your favor out there....  If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.  If you have any questions, or comments please get a hold of me anytime.  You can call, text, email, or even facebook me.  Please remember that while I mean these emails/blogs to be helpful, and educational, I am still hoping that you will call, or email me as I would be honored to help you with your home buying, or home selling adventure!  :-)    As always....this is just a quick overview.... again...and I can't say this enough...please remember that your agent is NOT a salesperson, and should not be acting like one.  Real Estate is not really about houses, it is about relationships.  Your agent, and your lender work for YOU.  You drive the bus...we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals.  Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure.  The goal is to be informative and non-promotional.  :-)  We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.   Thank you again for your business and your referrals!!  ...and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers.   ....disclaimer...if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings...   Upcoming Topics: What do I need to buy a home, Hiring a Realtor...questions to ask, What if I don't have a Down Payment? .....  &....What does an Agent do for me? Debt to Income Ratios....What is this? Last Week:  Why take a home buyers (or sellers) class? Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,   ;-D   Tracie DeMars   Real Estate broker   Re/Max - Van Mall   360/ 903-3504 cell   360/ 882-3600 fax   www.traciedemars.com   traciedemars@aol.com       “Interested in free and non promotional home education classes?  Go to www.freehomebuyerclasses.com for local upcoming home buyer and home SELLER classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate for my home buyer education blog.” "Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."       - Shel Silverstein, American poet, cartoonist and composer, (1930 - 1999

[thorne93]

Old Flame, New Problems (Part 4)

Prompt: You’re in a serious relationship with Sebastian Stan, when news from your first love informs you that he’s now single and in need of a friend. Will your old flame burn out or will the flames get fanned and consume you?

Word Count: 2913

Warning: language, angst, fighting (verbal), cheating, drama

Notes: This idea came to me when news hit about Hayden and Rachel splitting. Of course I’m sad that a long time relationship such as theirs is ending, but it also means he’s single sooo…Also, no hate towards Rachel. I don’t know her, don’t know what really happened between them, etc. It’s a fic and in no way reflects what I think of either of them or their precious daughter ^.^

Beta’d by my #1 gal @like-a-bag-of-potatoes​

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @harleyquinnandscarletwitch @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @myparadise1982sand @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno @rda1989 @marvelloushamilton @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername @kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr​ @kaeling

Sebastian Stan Tag: @nedthegay @lostinspace33 @alwayshave-faith @elleatrixlestrange @buenostardissherlock @lenawiinchester @the-red-world-of-jess-chibi @memory-of-a-goldfish @mellsstark

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

Laying on your bed, you were talking to Seb.

“God, I miss you so much,” Sebastian breathed into the phone. It’d been four months without seeing each other and it was killing you, bringing up old fears and old worries you didn’t want to visit.

“I know, I miss you too,” you echoed, the devastation in your voice. “How much longer?”

“Two months,” he answered with sorrow. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s your career, you have to be there,” you assured, but deep down, you were breaking, terrified history was repeating itself.

“I love you. You’re so supportive. We’ll make it through,” Seb promised.

Jet lagged, but happy that your five short stories had been sent in, you were just about back to your home. All in all, you’d spent about a week at Hayden’s farm. The entire time, you either wrote, cooked, or chilled out and watched movies or shows. You played cards a couple of times but all in all, it was relaxed. It was a nice change of pace from the galas, book signings, premieres, and other soirees you attended.

Being with Hayden felt...right...It felt natural, casual, laid back. You remembered that was how it was while you dated. Lazy days in the apartment, you scribbling away on your stories and Hayden practicing lines right next to you.

The entire time was spent with you trying to drown out old emotions that had never truly gone away. Time was a funny beast like that. They say it heals all wounds, but in this case there were no wounds to heal.

Every time he looked at you, got near you, touched you, gave you that shy smile, you felt yourself falling for him all over again. Considering you and Hayden never had closure, it was somewhat natural to feel the way you did. No one cheated. No one drifted. No one strayed. No one gave up. That was the tragedy of it. You two were very much in love, but neither one of you would ask the other to give up their dreams, so the dreams won. They broke your hearts and you moved on...Or at least, you tried to. There was a reason most men didn’t last with you a full year.

Despite being captivated by him still though, you remembered Sebastian, how could you not? He was wonderful too. It wasn’t fair to him to feel or think the things you were so you continually locked them away and burying them. Except for that tragically awful kiss. Hayden had asked if you would tell Sebastian and you said you would when the time was right, hopefully soon.

But now you were back to reality, back to your life with Sebastian, your current love. You unlocked the door, a happy Spinee greeting you with a wagging tail.

“Hey, buddy! I missed you too,” you sweetly said to him as you pulled your luggage into the home. You were tired, not to mention tense. All of the interactions between you and Sebastian had been strained. He wasn’t thrilled about you staying there, or writing there, or anything, it seemed. And you were upset that he didn’t call or text more, when you’d sent several messages. You knew he was working, but he did have the time while getting ready, going to the table reads, and lunch.

You stood up, ready to just throw your stuff in the bedroom and sleep, but a sight kept you from doing just that.

Rose petals.

They led a short distance to the dining room to the right. Your eyes followed them, and they led you to your boyfriend. Sebastian stood in one of his nice, expensive button downs and jeans, his hair combed and slicked back, on the edge of the dining room. He had a soft smile planted on his face as he looked at you and you couldn’t help but smile back.

“What’s going on?” you asked, confused by his attire.

“An apology dinner,” he informed with that smile that always took your breath away. He walked over to you and kissed you, deep, a “welcome home kiss” as it were. He grabbed your hand and pulled you to a beautifully set table. “I was an ass. You were helping a friend and I should’ve been more supportive. Despite your history, I should be able to trust you, and I do. So, to make up for my behavior, I made dinner.”

“Seb…” you started, a happy tear coming to your eye while your insides melted and twisted in torment simultaneously. “This is so nice.”

“I’m glad you noticed, I went through a lot of effort,” he said with a cocky grin that made you wrinkle your nose and grab him to kiss him.

“So what’d you make?” you asked excitedly as you sat on one end of the table.

“Steaks with bleu cheese sauce, roasted potatoes, and a salad. Is that okay?” he asked, his concerned eyes searching yours for validation.

“Yes, babe, it’s perfect. Thank you.”

The two of you began to dig into the food when Sebastian continued his apology. “I really am sorry. I should’ve supported you. You were just being a good friend...I also shouldn’t have given you a hard time on finally being able to write. That’s your career, and I’m happy for anything that progresses it...Even if it is spending a week with your ex,” he muttered with a teasing tone and wink. “So how’s he doing?”

The mention of Hayden instantly sent a surge of panic, regret, and dread through you.

“He’s not dealing with it,” you answered honestly, trying to keep your composure. “He’s suppressing his feelings. I tried to get him to open up but he was being his typical self…”

“Did he say why they split up?” he wondered while cutting into his steak.

You shrugged. “His anxiety...depression...his general hermit-ness.”

“Ah,” Seb noted.

You nodded in agreement. “Yep…” There was a hint of annoyance in your tone. Rachel and you had never, ever gotten along. You had tried. You tried very, very hard to get along. She didn’t want anything to do with it though. For her to leave him because of his mental issues felt so wrong to you, like a betrayal.

“Not in agreement?”

“I think it’s just odd to wait ten years, and three years post baby to leave him. Ten years is a long time to figure out you’re unhappy,” you stated.

“Everyone’s different, babe. Maybe the kid shone some light on things she was missing in life. You have to respect both of their decisions to split.”

“I know,” you sighed. “I just don’t like seeing him hurt.”

Seb gave you a half smile, and nod. “Because you’re a good person.”

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

After the delicious dinner, Sebastian showed you just how much he had missed you in all the best possible ways. He spent two days with you either in bed or going out to dinner and it seemed like just the ticket. His attentative affection made you forget about the recent problems you two were having and it made you focus on the good.

But now was the time for returning to the real world. You had a lot of press to cover for your novel that released a couple months ago, and Seb had to do his promotion for his new movies.

Today, you would be on Good Morning America to talk about your new book.

“Good luck today,” Sebastian wished you as he got ready for his day and you were putting the finishing touches on your outfit. You chose work slacks, a silver silk blouse and a french twist for your hair.

“Thank you,” you softly responded.

“You’re gonna knock ‘em dead,” he assured. “Don’t be nervous.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re the life of every party,” you commented with a smirk in the mirror.

“It’s your book, they’re there to ask you about your book, it’s not gonna be hard,” he promised.

You smiled and nodded. “Well, you liked it, right?” you questioned.

“I haven’t gotten around to reading it, but I will,” he promised. Instantly, sorrow and anger flared within you. He couldn’t read your book on the plane while he traveled? Or in betweens shots while filming? Or a few pages before bed? He hadn’t read your last book either, or the last few short stories you did. Was it so hard or so awful to ask for your boyfriend to read your work?

“But...you said you’d read it two months ago when it came out,” you retorted lightly.

He gave you an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, babe. I haven’t had a chance is all. I will get to it though.”

“I need to get going,” you stated glancing at the clock on the wall in your bedroom.

“Okay, I love you,” he said as you leaned forward to give him a goodbye kiss.

“Love you too,” you stated, ignoring the guilt that was slowly ebbing away at your soul.

A rather short ride--for New York--to the Good Morning America set. From there they gave you more makeup, messed with your hair, and then they were calling you out.

“So happy to have you here with us today, Y/N,” Robin stated as you all began.

“Well thank you so much for having me,” you responded with a wide grin, ignoring how the cameras and lights made you feel.

“So you have a new book out!” Robin exclaimed happily.

“Yes, yet another one,” you said with a small smile.

“Now tell us about this one,” she instructed kindly.

“Well it’s about a young woman who falls in love with someone she shouldn't, and it deals with the aftermath,” you explained, trying to sound casual.

“Oh,” she responded with a fun face. “Sounds very interesting!”

The two of you went on to talk about the book, your upcoming book tour, and other works you have in the bag right now. Then at the end, they said where your book was available. The show ended, they wished you a good day, and you left.

Just as you were walking out of the building, you got a phonecall from Hayden.

“Hey,” you greeted cheerily as you answered.

“Hey, I saw the show. You looked good!”

Your face lit up at his words. “Thanks. I didn’t feel it,” you admitted.

“No you really did. I loved the ending of it. Very poetic. A little Jane Austen, but great, nonetheless,” he offered and you could practically feel his smile through the phone.

“You read it?” you asked in surprise delight, stopping in your tracks on the sidewalk.

“Well yeah, Y/N, I read everything you write,” he informed as if it were obvious.

“That’s so sweet. Thank you, Hayden, for your support.”

“Hey, you don’t need my support,” he said with a laugh.

A cheerful smile popped onto your face and you started walking again. “No, I suppose I don’t need it, but it’s still incredibly nice.”

“Think nothing of it. Your works always been amazing, but like fine wine, it gets better with age.”

“Now who’s the poet?” you teased.

“Maybe I’ve been inspired,” he said in a sweet voice.

Your heart stuttered at his words.

“So...have you told Sebastian yet?” he questioned.

The pit of guilt in your stomach grew five sizes. “No...Not yet.”

“You need to tell him, Y/N, he deserves to know.”

You nodded and swallowed, your heart hammering and palms sweating just thinking about it.

“I know. I know I do. I just…”

“Don’t wait for the right time,” he interjected. “There is no right time to tell him. Do it as soon as you can, in person. The longer you wait, the worse it will get.”

Sighing, you admitted defeat. He was right.

“You’re right. Yeah. Okay. I’ll tell him tonight when he comes home.”

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

There was practically a hole in your floor by the time Sebastian came home, you’d been pacing so much, wringing your hands, and muttering to yourself about how you’d finally tell him.

He opened the door and smiled at you, the expression sending a knife right through your chest.

“Hey, babe. How was the show?” he asked before coming over to give you a quick kiss.

“It was okay...Uh...Seb, we need to talk,” you said, the knots multiplying rapidly in your stomach and your chest constricting. You may be about to lose your boyfriend, the man you were in love with, for one minute of idiocy.

He frowned and put his hands on his hips. “That’s never good,” he said in a serious tone. “What’s up?”

“No easy way to say this, so I’m just going to say it. Hayden and I...we...kissed,” you started and as soon as Seb’s face changed from concern to a blank expression, you added, “but I stopped it. It didn’t go any further. It didn’t mean anything. That’s why I’m telling you now.”

He ran his tongue on the inside of his cheek as his eyebrows raised and he looked down at the floor.

“Wow….Okay,” he said.

Your breathing stopped as you stared at him.

“Why?” he asked, looking back up at you.

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “It just happened.”

“It just happened,” he echoed in a humorless tone, with a small laugh coming out of his nose. “This...This is exactly why I didn’t want you going up there,” he said angrily, his eyes flashing to yours.

“Sebastian, please. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” you tried desperately.

“No, it just happened,” he repeated, throwing your own words back at you, his voice raising.

“I stopped it. I told you. It didn't mean anything,” you said again.

“So you just threw everything we have away for a kiss?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing on you.

“No! No. It’s not like that. I just...I had a moment of weakness. Seb, I’m sorry. I really am. If I could take it back, I would.”

“We have a home, Y/N,” he said, gesturing with his hands how dire this was. “We live together. We’re practically married and you do this...Our relationship meant so little to you?”

“No! I love you! Our relationship means everything to me.”

“Clearly! That’s why you couldn’t last a week with your ex. I should’ve known better. I did know better…”

You didn’t know what else to say.

“We made a commitment to each other, Y/N, and you couldn't honor that. I love you,” he said, angry, his face pinching into rage.

“I know! Okay? I fucked up! I’m sorry! I wish it never happened. But it did and I’m trying to deal with this responsible way.”

“Responsible? You think it’s responsible to betray me, come home and act like nothing happened, lie to my face for days, and then telling me makes you the hero?”

“I never said that,” you countered, your teeth clenching. You took a deep breath.

“When did it happen? When you walked in the door? That night? When?”

“Two nights before I left,” you quietly answered, your eyes not on him. You couldn’t bear the thought of looking at him right now.

“We talked on the phone twice after that,” he spat, furious. “You didn’t think to mention it?”

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to since it didn’t mean anything,” you shouted back.

He threw his hands about in an angry gesture. “Oh, so you thought you’d just make out with him and then lie to me about nothing happening. I thought I could trust you.”

“You can,” you argued evenly.

“How can I? When your ex from over ten years ago becomes single and within a week, you’re already betraying me to make out with him?” he demanded, yelling at you. “Is that really all it took? Was a simple, ‘Oh, hey, I’m single now, come up and see me’? And you’re chasing after him?”

“I didn’t chase anyone! I went up thinking I’d be there for a friend.”

“Seems like it worked. You got him to forget all about Rachel,” he remarked, glowering at you.

You were getting angry at this point. “I fucked up, I owned up to it. I’m human, Sebastian, I make mistakes.”

“Clearly so do I,” he responded, his eyes burning on yours.

That hurt...a fucking lot. His words felt like a bullet striking your chest.

“Sebastian,” you breathed, feeling the coldness spread within you.

“Do you love him?” he demanded in a low voice.

You thought for a moment. You hadn’t even asked yourself that question. Possibly, because the answer scared the shit out of you.

“It’s a yes or no answer, Y/N,” he barked. “Do. you. love. him?” he asked, punctuating each word.

“I don't know,” you answered honestly, the tears just at bay.

He shook his head, his body shaking from rage. “I can’t do this. I can’t fucking do this.” He turned around and started to head toward the door.

“Sebastian, no, wait!” you begged, running toward him, grabbing his arm.

“Let go of me, Y/N. I can’t be here right now.”

You didn’t want to let him go. You wanted to sit and sort all of this out. But you needed to give him space. Releasing his arm and stepping back, he didn’t look back at you before storming out and slamming the door behind him.

[loveyboyslovin]

Way Down We Go - Chapter 1: James

AO3  ~  Chapter 2: Aleks  ~  Chapter 3: Brett

NSFW ~ HundarNovaHD & ModestAsher ~ Attempted Rape/Non-Con By Original Characters, Intervention By Mates, Omegaverse, Alpha/Beta/Omega, Omega James, Alpha Aleks, Alpha Brett, Omega Trevor, Alpha Asher, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Aggression, Protectiveness, Scenting, Knotting, Mating Bond, Mating Bites, Oral Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Threesome, Consensual, Consensual Sex With Mates, Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Blood

It’s hard being an Omega, always has been. Growing up and realizing that you’re sort of seen as the lowest rung on society’s ladder, a slave to your biology, and in some people’s eyes, with only one purpose in life; to provide children. And sure, Omega’s are still prized, and Alphas treat their mates well, but it’s something that never truly leaves the back of your mind, a thought that eats away at you over the years.

It took James a long time to come to terms with the cards he’s been dealt, and Aleks and Brett have played a major part in that. It’s not often you find a pair of Alpha’s bonded to each other, and it’s even rarer for a pair like that to both fall in love with the same Omega. It’s a weird situation, to say the least, but James wouldn’t change it for the world. They make him feel loved, they make him feel wanted, not just another Omega to be owned. He doesn’t belong to them, and they don’t want him to, but the trust they place in him does nothing to dissuade his infatuation with the both of them. In a world where he’s essentially seen as property, their willingness to allow him his freedom is the greatest gift they could ever give him. 

Tonight, that freedom comes in the form of a movie night out with Trevor. It’s not the best one he’s ever watched, if he’s being completely honest, but having Trevor there to keep him company easily makes up for the fairly average entertainment. There’s a sense of camaraderie between them that always makes their interactions comfortable and easy. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact they’re both Omegas and they want to look out for each other, or maybe they just happen to mesh well together, whatever the reason is, James is grateful to have him as a friend.

James checks his phone as they walk out of the theater, pretty annoyed to find that his battery is dead. Of fuckin’ course. They stand out the front for a bit, chatting about life and work stuff, just basking in that bubble of comfort between them.

“You sure you’re gonna be fine?”, Trevor asks him eventually, and James can’t help but notice the concerned light in the younger Omega’s eyes, the way the meagre illumination from the lamppost above the two of them makes the shadows play across his face.

“Come on, Trev”, he scoffs, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket to warm them up. It’s cold out tonight, and the soft inner lining is a welcome replacement for the freezing leather exterior, “Who do you think you’re talkin’ to?”

“But–”, Trevor tries again, “Your heat, James, you’re gonna–”

“I’m gonna nothing, Trevor”, James snaps, guilt and regret washing over him when the boy flinches and curls in on himself.

“I…”, James sighs, disappointed in himself for getting antsy with him, and gently pats Trevor on the forearm, “I’m sorry, bud” 

The younger Omega keeps resolutely staring at the ground, worry knitting his brows together, so James rubs at his shoulder, as close to comfortingly as he can manage through the thick cotton of his hoodie. 

“Hey, look at me”, James murmurs. Dark eyes meet his through the gloom. Trevor’s lips are pinched, a nervous habit that James is used to by now, “I’ll be fine. My heat isn’t due for another five hours and I’m gonna be home with Aleks and Brett long before then. I just need to pop by the store on the way back.”

“At least let me drive you there”, Trevor sighs, clearly still not appeased by James’ effort at reassuring him, “It’s late.”

“Even if I wasn’t scared shitless by your driving ability,” James chuckles, and is pleased when it finally gets Trevor to smile, even if just a little, “It makes no sense for you to be going the opposite way just for me. And besides, I could use the exercise.”

Trevor is frowning at him, and James is almost sure that he’s gonna keep arguing the point, but after a long, deadpan stare, Trevor finally sighs in defeat, “Fine, but be careful. Please…”

“I ain’t a fuckin’ marshmallow, Trev” James rolls his eyes and mock punches him, chuckling at the over-exaggerated groan Trevor makes as he clutches at his arm as if it’s gonna fall right off, “Go home. You know how Asher gets when you’re gone.”

Trevor gives him one last unsure look before he shakes his head and turns to walk to his car, and James watches him go with something akin to fondness in his gaze. He’s come to think of the younger Omega as a brother of sorts, and it’s hard to not keep an eye on him when he can. Trevor opens the driver-side door and steps in. His car is honestly pretty shitty, but hey, the fact that he has a car at all is an achievement in itself, right? James hears the engine rumble to life, and waves at Trevor as the headlights swing past him, effectively blinding him for a few seconds.

By the time he’s blinking the bright spots from his vision, the car is gone, and James is standing alone in the empty parking lot. He sighs, low and long, as he re-adjusts his jacket and starts walking. The cinema is only a few blocks away from their apartment, but he wants to stop by the shop to grab a few last-minute supplies for his heat. Once he goes under, Aleks and Brett won’t be leaving the apartment at all for a few days, as they’ll be busy fucking him through his cycle.

James walks fairly quick because, one, he’s eager to be home with his Alphas as soon as possible, and two, this will be good for him. James likes to exercise as regularly as he can, trying his best to combat his biological tendency to favour a more ‘curvaceous’ figure, you might say. His mom had always told him it was an important way to promote a more nurturing body for bearing children, but seeing as he has no plans for a pregnancy any time soon, it ends up being more of an annoyance than anything else.

James finds his mind wandering as he walks, running over the list of things they still need for his heat as he scans his surroundings. It’s a nice night, quite cold considering this is LA, but a beautiful night nonetheless.  The sky is clear and cloudless, and he even notices a few stars, a rarity through the city smog. James has always liked night-time, there’s something about it that’s calm and almost… melancholic? Yeah. Yeah, that’s probably the best way to describe it. The way time seems to stand still when there’s no-one around and you almost feel like you might be the last person on Earth. At this pace, it shouldn’t take him more than half an hour to drop by the store and get home, and James is relieved by that knowledge.

But then something changes.

It’s slow at first, barely noticeable. James starts to find himself getting short of breath, which is confusing to him, because, despite what the softness around his hips and belly would tell you – childbearing hips, he can clearly hear his mother’s voice in his head – James exercises as much as he can and he knows he should be in better shape than this.

Next comes the sweating. He starts to feel so warm that, pretty soon, his leather jacket feels like it’s smothering him. It’s a deep, cloying heat that feels like it radiates throughout his entire body. It’s not long before he feels like his skin is crawling with it, and he practically rips his jacket off. The cool night air feels wonderful against his feverish skin, but the sensation doesn’t let up, and James feels a deep pit of anxiety settle in his stomach at the realization that these are all familiar symptoms to him. 

He’s still about 15 minutes from the apartment, maybe 10 if he moves quickly, and he still hasn’t bought any of the stuff. Shit! He deliberates for a moment, frozen stock-still in the street, bathed in soft yellow light from the streetlamp above him. They might really need those extra supplies in the coming days…

That’s when he feels the first twinge in his abdomen, a mere foreshadowing of all the cramps that are soon to come, and his mind is instantly made up. James curses under his breath as he darts off in the direction of home. He doesn’t run – he’s not a weirdo, and he’ll still get there before things really kick in – but his pace is brisk as he crosses the road and heads down a barren street. It’s dark, lit only by the occasionally situated streetlights. There’s a few storefronts here and there, small café’s and local businesses, but they’re long since closed for the night, with no light shining from their windows. 

He’s only a few blocks from the apartment, he’ll be fine! Everything is gonna to be just fine, he tries to convince himself as the anxiety that comes from being away from his mates during heat tightens in his chest and causes his breathing to speed.

As James nears an alley, he can hear the raucous sounds of laughter pouring from within. The scent hits him only a second later. Alphas. He feels his knees try to lock up and the urge to run in the opposite direction, but he’s so close to home, and the thought of Brett and Aleks waiting for him spurs him on. He keeps his head down and does his best to silently hurry past the alleyway. There’s no light out on the street, and he’s relieved when he slips past the entryway with no indication that he had been spotted.

Just when he thinks he’s in the clear, another person emerges from a nook in the side of the building that he hadn’t noticed before, almost colliding with him on the footpath.

“Oi! Watch where you’re fucking goin’, asshole”, the man spits, and his breath reeks of alcohol and tobacco. He’s tall, with dark hair, and though he’s clean shaven, he still has an overall scraggly appearance. He holds a lit cigarette in his hand, and the smoke rises in lazy wisps that swirl around his face before dissipating into the night air.

Any other time, James would probably just say “Fuck off” and keep walking, but he can smell Alpha pheromones rolling off the guy in waves, he’s in a really compromising position right now, and he just wants to go without setting him off, so he settles for a mumbled, “Sorry.”

As he tries to move around the Alpha, the man stiffens and suddenly there’s a heavy hand clamping down on James’ shoulder. He flinches away, trying to shrug out of the man’s grasp, but his grip just tightens even more, and the man starts to chuckle, low and menacing in the near deadly silence of the street, “Well well, look what we have here…” 

“Get the fuck off me!”, James hisses, but the man ignores him in favour of pushing him into the alley.

“Look at what I found, boys”, the Alpha calls, and James can see another two pairs of eyes flash in the darkness as they land on his body. 

The first Alpha is still stalking towards him, and he crowds James up against the alley wall. James can feel the rough bricks digging into his back and his head smacks back into the wall when the Alpha leans closer, leering at him in a way that makes him want to be sick, though that might also have something to do with the cramps that are increasingly lancing through his abdomen.

The other two Alphas move to flank their leader, staring at James hungrily, and suddenly Alpha pheromones explode into the space all around him. He wants to run, he wants to do something, anything, but the scent is overpowering all of his senses and he can’t concentrate.

“Oh, the little Omega’s going into heat”, the man sneers teasingly as his nose sweeps along James’ neck, scenting him near his mating mark, and James shudders as he lets out a low, disgusted noise and cringes back against the wall even further.

“Look at that, Damian”, one of the other Alphas speaks up, noticing the side of James’ neck where his second bite is located, “He’s got two marks.”

“What’s this, slut? You so greedy you need two cocks to get you off you, huh?”, the main Alpha – obviously Damian – smirks, his canines are sharp and vicious-looking as he looms closer to James, “Well, I guess it’s your lucky night, because we’ve got three right here”

“Let me go!”, James whines, thrashing against grip that’s pinning him to the alley wall, but all they do is laugh at his futile struggle, “I don’t want this!”

“That’s not what your body’s telling me, sugar”, Damian grins, trailing a finger down James’ neck and over his mark. 

James wishes that Damian was lying, but he’s not. His own body is betraying him. All he wants to do is run, scream, get as far away from here as he possibly can, but his biology has him trapped, reacting instinctually to the scent of the three unknown Alphas that have him surrounded. His cock throbs as another wave of pheromones invades his nostrils, and he lets out a quiet moan as more slick runs down the back of his thighs, soaking into his jeans.

“God, what a little whore you are”, Damian muses, moving to nip at James’ neck, and James recoils, not wanting to have any part of the foreign Alpha touching him. Despite that, James can feel his rational thinking slowly slipping away as the intoxicating scent takes control, and he knows that he’s only got one chance to get out of here before it’s too late. His body is screaming at him to submit to them, to just go lax and let the Alphas use him how they want to, but he refuses to go down without a fight.

The Alpha is so preoccupied with his advances that he’s being careless, and his grip on James has loosened quite a bit. James feels the adrenaline surge through his veins, and in a last-ditch effort to protect himself, he grabs Damian’s fingers and wrenches them backwards with a sickening crunch, while simultaneously kneeing him in the groin with all the effort he can muster. The Alpha howls in pain, and he immediately curls over his injured hand. If the noises were anything to go by, Damian’s fingers are broken, and James is suddenly beyond grateful for the self-defense techniques his mom forced him to learn when he was younger. 

The other Alpha’s seem completely dumbfounded, certainly not expecting a fight from an Omega, and James is able to dart out from underneath Damian and make a mad dash towards the street. He can barely hear their shouts of surprise and anger over the blood roaring in his ears, and he doesn’t dare to look back as he sprints with all of the energy he has left, towards his only chance of safety. For a second or two, he legitimately believes that he might be fine, but then he feels a heavy weight clamp around the back of his neck and yank him to a stop, punching all the air from his lungs as he’s dragged back against a solid chest.

The second largest Alpha shoves him back against the wall, and the back of James’ head connects with the bricks, making his vision blur as a ringing bursts forth in his ears. His mind seems hazy and unfocused as he stumbles, struggling to orient himself. He tries to remember where he is and why he’s so scared, but before he has a chance, Damian is back in his face, his uninjured hand curled tightly around James’ throat as he pushes him back into the bricks again, cutting off all of his airflow.

“You little cunt!”, Damian seethes, and James makes a pained, choked-off whine as tears start pooling in the corners of his eyes. He has no chance now. “You just made this so much worse for yourself!”

James doesn’t have any energy left in him to fight, and in his desperation, he does the only thing he can think of; he tries to get in their heads.

“M-my mates…”, he rasps, clawing weakly at the vice-like grip around his throat, “They know I’m missing. They’re gonna be looking for me.”

“Nice try,” the Alpha laughs cruelly, “but they’re not coming.”

“They love me…”, James wheezes, distraught at even the idea, “They’d never leave me!”

“I don’t see them here right now, do you?”, Damian asks, looking around the alleyway and shrugging nonchalantly, “And besides, they can’t really care about you that much if they let you wander around all alone on your heat”

James doesn’t want to listen to him, he wants to completely ignore all the vile lies that are spewing out of the Alpha’s mouth, but a small voice in the back of his head wonders whether Damian is right. What if Aleks and Brett hadn’t ever really cared about him. What if it was all just a big lie, a long-running joke at his expense. They were together before they even met him, they were a bonded pair long before he was in the picture. They’re probably happy they won’t have to deal with him anymore. They’re not coming for him. They’re not coming. A small part of him knows that this insecurity is all his heat talking, but he can’t clamp down on the thoughts now they’re at the forefront of his mind, and his tears overflow at the realization that his mates, the ones he loves more than life itself, have deserted him, left him to this horrible fate.

Damian growls, low and threatening, as James struggles weakly. He feels as the Alpha leans forward, lips brushing over his neck, feels the sharp prick of pointed teeth grazing his skin, and it makes him shudder with revulsion. This is it, he can’t run anymore. Once those fangs pierce his skin, he’ll be like putty in their hands, and there’s no way in hell he’ll be able to resist their efforts.

Time seems to stand still in that moment. James can hear his heart pounding in his head, his breaths gasping from his dry lips, can feel the fear tie his stomach in knots. Trails of tears run down his face as the Damian yanks his head to the side to expose his neck, canines bared as he prepares to bite James, hovering right where Brett’s mating mark currently sits.

Maybe it’s the head injury, or maybe he really has gone crazy, but one second, everything around him sounds muted and muffled, and the next, his entire world explodes with sound.

For a second, his sluggish mind wonders whether there has been an explosion, because the thunderous roar that suddenly fills the alleyway is like nothing James has ever heard before. He barely has time to register the origin of the sound, before Damian is being wrenched away from him and thrown to the alley floor.

As if they’ve appeared out of thin air, Brett and Aleks are suddenly in front of him, leaning forward into defensive crouches to form a formidable wall between James and the other Alphas. Damian flips up from the ground and growls at them, clearly enraged that his opportunity is gone. Despite his ferocity, he’s nothing, nothing, compared to Brett and Aleks.

The only word that James thinks would come even remotely close is savage. He’s never seen them look more like animals in the entire time he’s known them. Their eyes are frightening in their intensity; scleras that are black as pitch where normally there would be white, and their irises, usually such a beautiful, warm chocolate brown, now glow with various hues of yellow, orange and red, ever shifting and changing as if smouldering with a fire from within. Sharp canines flash in the night, glistening with saliva, bared and lethal as his mates crouch forward and snarl at his attackers. 

There’s about a second where time seems to stand still, then Damian is charging towards them and Brett is leaping forward to meet him. They clash with each other, a cacophony of roars and snarls and snapping teeth, as Brett uses their momentum to throw them deeper into the alley and farther from James. The remaining two Alphas seem content to both take on Aleks, and they try to flank him before he hurtles into their midst, knocking one down and unbalancing the other.

James is so devastatingly happy that his mates have come for him, and he wants to stay here with them, wants to make sure they’re safe, but he just can’t. It’s like everything that’s happened to him tonight finally catches up with him. The wave of fear and adrenaline finally crashes over him as his heat ramps up to a whole new level of pain, feeling like it rips through his very core, and James can absently feel the rough texture of the brick wall scraping against his back as his legs give out from underneath him. 

James has no way of knowing how slow time is going, barely able to acknowledge the world around him, so when a body lands right near him, thumping to the ground, it shocks him back into reality and makes him flinch back into the wall with a frightened noise. It’s the smaller of the two Alphas Aleks is currently tackling, and he completely ignores James now that competition has arrived.

James looks up through bleary eyes and can see that Aleks is facing away from him, clearly occupied with the other Alpha. The one in front of James darts up until he’s crouching, and James can see in the way he moves, the way his spine rolls and his muscles tense, that he’s preparing to leap at Aleks and catch him from behind. With that kind of advantage, it’s almost certain that Aleks won’t stand a chance against both of them.

James feels like a wreck. There are tears in his eyes and his brain feels muddled and pain is coursing throughout his entire body, but he refuses to sit by and watch his Alpha, his mate, get hurt, not after they both came for him when he needed them most. Something in his heart tells him to reach out, and he does, his fingers curling around a broken-off section of metal pipe that is strewn along the bottom of the alley wall. He might not have sharp fangs or powerful muscles, he may be physically weaker than them, but he’ll be damned if he’s going to sit by and watch Aleks be attacked right in front of him, so he tightens his grip on the pipe as he raises it above his head.

It swings down fast, gravity doing most of the work, cracking the Alpha right over the head, and he goes down like a sack of shit. The hit doesn’t break the skin but the Alpha doesn’t move after that, so he’s either unconscious or dead, and to be completely honest, either option is fine with James.

The spike of energy leaves James as quickly as it came, and the pipe clatters to the alley floor with a loud clanging noise that still sounds jarring despite the cacophony of the Alphas fighting all around him. 

James tries to hold on, he really does, but every passing second seems to make all of this seem harder to cope with, so he does the only thing he has left, he retreats inside himself.

The pain doesn’t go away, and neither does his fear, but he can already feel himself moving to a place inside his head where he can deal with his problems in peace, without having to worry about the crazy, fucked-up world around him. As James closes his eyes and curls in on himself, slowly rocking back and forth, he feels the last string tying him to the rough concrete floor of this alley snap, and then he’s drifting down.

Drifting…

[ridiculousn3sswrites]

Epilogue

*Justin Laboy (21 Chump Street) x Reader

*Summary: Reader is faced with the consequences of her actions.

*Warnings: None, I think. Does cops being assholes count as a warning?

*A/N: This is the last part for my 21 Chump Street series, but I already have ideas for that In the Heights series and a Loki series, as well as the stuff on my request list. This part starts like right where the last one ended and just goes on from there, so no jumping around the timeline this time!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five

It had been a couple weeks since your confrontation with Justin. Andrew, Derek, and Tevin had taken your side, the four of you resuming your lives without Justin. One thing you did notice was Naomi’s sudden disappearance from school, which held with the dealers’ theory of her being a narc. You were sitting in the back of the physics class, talking to Derek about the upcoming year. You were going to take a gap year, but everyone else was planning on going to college in the fall. As you were describing the road trip you were planning, two uniformed officers came into the room. They spoke to your teacher, and your teacher soon pointed you out.

Everyone’s attention turned to you as the officers walked to your desk. “(Y/n) (l/n)?” one of them asked.

“Yeah?” You replied, turning your attention to the man.

“Please stand,” he told you. “(Y/n) (l/n), you are under arrest for drug possession with the intention to sell.” Derek looked shocked from beside you, and when you snuck a glance at Justin, all of the color had drained from his face. You stood and let the other officer place cuffs on you as she read you your rights, your face completely calm despite your pounding heart and racing thoughts. They led you out of the classroom, which had been shocked into silence. After all, you were always the quiet one, the least likely to get in trouble.

Instead of taking you out to a squad car, the officers led you to your locker. The janitor was removing the lock, revealing your clean locker. The male officer put on gloves and began rifling through your things, making a mess of your carefully organized locker. It took only a few minutes for the officer to find nothing, and he turned to you. “Where’s your supply?” he demanded.

“I don’t have one,” you shrugged. “I’m not a dealer.”

“Don’t lie to us,” the woman said, pulling on your cuffs slightly.

“I don’t have a supply because I’m not a drug dealer,” you replied. “And if you could not do that, I’d appreciate it.” The woman responded by tugging on your cuffs again, making them dig into your wrists. You winced at the feeling, but chose not to say anything else. You looked down the hall, seeing various lockers thrown open with papers and books scattered on the floor in front of them. By the amount of people caught, you could tell Naomi wasn’t the only undercover officer at work.

The officers took you to the main office, where you were met with about a dozen kids waiting. You scanned the faces, recognizing some from your four years at the school, but you didn’t see your dealer. The officers called every person’s parents, taking them to the squad cars after, and slowly the group began to dwindle. You were one of the last to leave, and you had to admit that you were getting really sick of your arresting officers.

After your interview with the nice guy that treated you like a human being, you were interrogated by detectives. The entire time they were yelling at you, talking about how you needed to give up the act. “We have evidence that you planned to sell those drugs,” a male detective yelled.

“What evidence?” You challenged. Save for touch DNA, there was nothing to prove that you’d even talked to Naomi.

“Don’t play dumb, we have every text,” the man replied.

“What are you even talking about? I never talked to Naomi, I didn’t like her,” you replied, suddenly confused. “Touch DNA on the bag I’d get, but texts? It’s hard to text someone you never talked to outside of class.”

“I’m talking about the ones between your friend and her. So what, you use him as a proxy to take the money for duds while you slip the customer the actual drugs?” the detective speculated. “It’s your word against hers, and who do you think we’ll trust?”

He had you there. The police would protect their own, and despite the fact that you never really planned anything with Naomi, they would do whatever it took to take you down. You slumped down in your seat, taking the abuse from the detective until your court appointed attorney showed up.

You spent a week in a juvenile detention center waiting for indictment since you were still technically a minor. You had to admit that you didn’t have it as bad as you could’ve, especially since you heard talk that some of the dealers got sent to actual prisons. You had consistent visitors in your week: your parents, Derek, Tevin, Andrew, and even Justin showed up. When indictment came around, you took the plea deal for two years probation.

During the week you spent in juvie, you couldn’t help but think about how you could’ve avoided all of this. You could’ve told Justin about your suspicions from the beginning, but it’s not like he would’ve listened. You could’ve just given Justin the oregano and let him look like an idiot, but no, you just had to go and get actual weed for her. You mainly just wanted to talk to Naomi, see what she thought now that she had done all of this. You wanted to know why she had to come in and destroy everything you knew. You wondered if she still thought she did the right thing during those months.

A couple weeks after the plea deal was arranged, you got a phone call from a journalist reporting the entire thing. You thought his voice sounded familiar, but it didn’t click until you walked into the interview room and saw the same man from the day you were arrested. “So you aren’t a detective, huh?” You asked, putting your bag down on the table and taking a seat across from him.

“I never told you that I was, you just assumed,” he replied with a smile. “So, (y/n), can you tell me what happened since we last talked?”

“Uh, well, I was sent to juvie since I’m not technically an adult yet,” you replied. “I turn 18 next month, so luckily all of this happened when I was still a minor. I took a plea for two years probation, so I can’t really do anything. If I try to go to college, I gotta say that I have a felony charge, and I won’t qualify for any federal financial aid, so it’s not like I can afford it anyways. Naomi screwed me over big time.”

“Have you talked to her since all of this happened?” He asked.

“Nope, but I never really talked to her in the first place, so it’s not a loss,” you said with a shrug.

“How about Justin?”

“He visited me when I was in juvie, we made up. He’s still pissed about Naomi though,” you told him. “That’s a conversation he’d love to have if he ever saw her again.”

“Do you know what he’d say to her?” The man seemed even more invested in the story than he initially was, but you chalked it down to it being major headline news. If this was his first major piece, then there was undoubtedly a promotion in his future if this story gained as much attention as he seemed to think it would.

“We actually talked about this. He said that he’d ask what the heck did she do to him. He honestly really liked her, and it was only because it was her that he did all of this. If it had been the dude UC that I heard about, he would’ve turned him away, told him to back off, but it was all because it was her,” you spilled, finally putting everything you’d been thinking about in juvie out there. “She just got him so infatuated with her. I’m not sure if we could sue for entrapment, but that entire situation definitely felt like entrapment. The court appointed attorney I got isn’t trash so he’s still talking with us, seeing about getting an appeal to overturn the plea.”

“That would be a difficult case to win,” the man commented. “But I wish you the best with that. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about? I know it’s sort of off topic, but the last time we talked, you mentioned that you told Justin that you liked him. Did anything come from that?”

“Aw, you’re a romantic,” you teased. “Well, when I was in juvie, we actually talked it through and we’ve been together for a couple weeks now. As soon as I was out, he took me on our first date. Honestly, I can say that’s the one good thing that came out of all this.” The man looked overjoyed at the news, and you could tell he was fighting to keep in his enthusiasm. “You can react more than that, you know.”

“I’m just really glad that worked out for you,” he gushed, a wide smile on his face. “And you got me, I’m definitely a sucker for a good love story.” You laughed at his excitement, already knowing that you’d look out for him since he seemed like a good person.

“Yeah, to think all it took was for me to get a felony for him,” you joked.

“There was obviously no easier way,” the man joked right back. You liked him, he was quick witted.

“Well, that’s all there really is to my story,” you told him. “Thank you for listening and not judging.”

“No problem, let me show you the way out,” he told you, standing and waiting as you gathered your bag. The two of you made small talk as he led you to the lobby of the building, and just as you were about to leave, he surprised you by grabbing your elbow. “Hey, (y/n).”

“Yeah?” You asked, looking down at his hand.

“Sorry,” he apologized, releasing you. He dug into his pocket before speaking again. “When I was researching you I got to look at some of your pictures from school, and they’re really good. If you’re looking for a job, I can get you on the staff here as a photographer.”

“Wait, really?” You asked incredulously as he handed you a business card.

“Yeah, just give me a call,” he told you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“Why are you doing this for me?” You questioned, despite your instincts telling you not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Because you deserve a second chance,” he replied. “I’ll be waiting for that call, (y/n).” With that, he turned and walked away, heading back in the direction of his office. You shook the shock out of your system, pocketing the card before heading out. You smiled when you saw Justin waiting for you outside, sitting under a tree. Justin looked up, smiling brightly when he saw you.

“Hey, I thought I said I’d call you,” you joked as Justin walked up to you. He took your hand in his and your heart fluttered just like it did the first time.

“I couldn’t wait,” Justin replied, nudging you. “I wanted to see my girl.”

“You saw me like two hours ago,” you laughed. The two of you walked hand in hand down the street, headed back to the same park you’d first confessed at.

“I know,” Justin said cheekily. “So, what were they asking about?”

“Remember how I told you about that nice detective when I was getting questioned?” You paused, waiting for his nod. When he gave it to you, you continued. “Well, turns out he’s a journalist and that’s who I met with today. He just wanted a follow up on what happened.”

“What’d you tell him?” Justin asked, playing with your fingers as the two of you walked.

“I told him about juvie, the plea, things like that,” you replied. “But after we were done, he gave me his card and said he wanted to offer me a job as a photographer.”

“That’s great, (y/n)!” Justin nearly exclaimed, dropping your hand and throwing his arm around you. “Looks like something good did come from all of this.”

“Yeah, that’d be the second thing,” you replied, relishing the solid feeling of Justin’s arm around you. Justin pressed a kiss to the top of your head, making you smile widely.

“C’mon, we should go celebrate,” Justin told you, ruffling your hair. He laughed at your half-hearted protests as he led you down the sidewalk for whatever he had in mind. You took in the moment, relishing the feeling of being in love and being loved back. While there were countless things you could’ve done differently, you had no way to know if it would’ve led to this moment right here. When you looked back, you were sure you didn’t do the right thing at the time, but you knew that you did what you were meant to. Right here, in this moment, you knew in your heart that that was enough.

Tag List: @pearltheartist, @holycoldcoffee, @mellowsobri