#sparrow or something hires the smiling friends to make his kid smile because whatever he’s doing sure as hell isnt working

[endrimer]

crossover of the century

x

[mymindwide]

It won’t be long we’ll meet again

Pairing: Ashton x Female reader

Word count: 6775

Warning: angst, feelings, smut

Author’s note: This is the chapter 2 (and closure) to ‘The end of heartache’. I hope you’ll love this too, and would just like to thank the support to those who were kind enough to write any kind of feedback on Chapter 1. :) I hope this won’t disappoint either. Take care and enjoy your read.

*****

You miss him. As plain as that sounds, sometimes the simplest words carry the heaviest burdens.

Six months ago you left your apartment with a sleeping Ashton in your bed, after he fucked you in that bed, and you convinced yourself that you don’t care about his motivation after all. You were glad it happened but eventually it just made things more difficult and painful for you.

Because although he’s never been yours, losing him broke your heart. That night you’ve spent together was… good. Obviously way more than just good. But why did he decide to come after you? He’s been in a seemingly happy relationship, then why? No doubt, he probably just felt pity for you after your confession. He always had a good and caring heart, you wouldn’t wonder if this was the case. Well, it really doesn’t matter now, does it? You took that risk; you knew what you were about to do, and as far as you remember your first thought was that you shouldn’t… yet you did nothing to stop him or rather you doing it. Now you were ready to pay the price for your decision, and you’re doing exactly this, painful or not.

Six months have passed since you left but you haven’t talked to any of them since. Well, not in live. Your communication went through emails, tweets and DMs on twitter, but those were very rare, you tried to keep it that way. After you had arrived and settled in your new living space you sent them an email with your address and the company’s name you were working at, at that time.

One day a delivery guy has left a small package for you at the reception of the building you were living in. The tiny velvet box hid a pretty white gold necklace with an angel wing medal; the gift card attached to it wished you all the best and let you know about a certain protection sentiment behind it, and was signed as C.A.L.M under that with the real signatures of Cal, Ash, Lu and Mike. An immediate smile crept on your face, because knowing the guys too well, this was either Cal’s or Ashton’s idea, and if you had to place a bet, your vote would be for Ash. No offense to Luke and Mikey, but they are not as thoughtful as the other two, and they are perfectly aware of this. This is again something that doesn’t make the disengagement easier for you, but you happily and proudly wear that beautiful necklace since the moment you have received it.

In the meantime you have changed a job, because two months ago you left that marketing position for a once in a lifetime opportunity – you were hired at iHeartRadio New York City in a program manager assistant position for one of its afternoon show. Everything was so new and fast and challenging, you had so many things to learn and do and still get used to, that you didn’t find the time and way to let the guys know about this new situation.

 * * *

 That day started pretty usual and normal, though at some point you should have started to suspect and prepare for the opposite. Just not long after you put your foot in the skyscraper building, there was a complete power outage; you had to call firefighters to help the trapped people escape from the elevators. You had to call the building maintenance guys to restore the electricity so the ca. 150 companies (including the city’s biggest radio station) can continue to work. You had to call some technicians to try to resettle your servers and computers. They managed to do that, however some of your fax machines have completely died due to the blackout, therefore you were asked to pass over a few important papers to one of your presenters shortly being on air, that he’d need to interview his guests that are already in the building. The entire 15th floor was your radio’s, so you picked up the folder and ran across the long hallway to reach the glass window studio on time. It was an impressive performance with 3 inches heels on your feet. After delivering the “goods” you joked to yourself that you should consider entering the next sprint competition that’s going to be held in the city. If you can do it on heels you’d have a good chance without them as well. You realized you needed to use the bathroom before returning back to your office, therefore you made a quick left turn on the corridor, but you didn’t get to the women’s restroom, because a familiar figure leaned against the wall next to the men’s restroom typing on his cellphone. You went closer, because you didn’t want to believe your eyes; your heart was pounding against your chest heavier than ever before.

 “Mi-Mikey?!” as you called his name he lowered his hands with the phone in them, turned around and as he realized who dared speak to him, his eyes widened and with that drive you wrapped your arms around his neck clinging to him like a startled sparrow.

“Y/N! What are you…, how?” he hugged you back tight.

“I’m working here” you responded as you let him go and took a step back so you can check him out.

“But we thought you’re at that marketing company.”

“I know and I was, this opportunity came 2 months ago” you started to gaze your feet as you felt your conscience remind you of all the missed chances to let your friends know about this new job. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier” you looked up at him with literal shame in your eyes.

“We kinda got used to it by now…” he smiled at you.

“I…I’m…”

“Just kidding, it’s so good to see you!” a grin appears on his face and that slightly reassures your nerves and remorse too.

“The others?”

“I guard the door while they are inside using whatever toilet they have to” he rolled his eyes. “I swear to you they’re still a bunch of babies, I told them to use the bathroom in the hotel, but nah, we’re good. You can see how good they are…” he points at the door of the men’s restroom making you laugh with his comment.

“What’s up Mike, now you’re talking to yourse…” – the door opened and as Luke came out first he couldn’t even finish the sentence coz after Mikey you appeared in his field of view and you got the same reaction as from Mikey.

“Y/N?!”

“Me” and you took a step towards him too to wrap your hands around his neck.

“What are you doing here?” he stroked your back quickly.

“I’ll tell you everything, just wait for the other two now so I don’t have to repeat myself four times”

“I’ll tell your girlfriends that you two beguile the lady assistants at every radio station we put our feet into…” came another familiar voice from the opening door, and this time you could surprise Calum.

“Man, I think they wouldn’t mind this one…” smiled Luke.

“Cal!!!!!!” you jumped into his neck and he held you tight to himself lifting you up a bit, your feet not touching the ground below you.

“Holy shit, girl, what are…” he started asking the obvious question as he put you down back on your feet.

“I know, what am I doing here, and I swear I’m going to answer just…”

 And this time you were the one who couldn’t finish your sentence coz the door has been opened for the third time and Ashton stepped outside looking confused for a second at the sight of the little group gathering until he found the incongruous member of his band. The others fell silent as if someone has stopped the time and cut you out of this scene. Actually, time has stopped for you too, because you weren’t exactly prepared for this spectacle either, seeing him obviously brought back memories, but even if those memories didn’t exist, he looked so handsome, so good-looking in his set that consisted of a black torn jeans and a black button-up shirt with the first few buttons being unbuttoned leaving a perfect view at his subtly muscular chest, that you felt a little bit lost at that moment.

 “Y/N?”

“Hi Ash…” you bit your bottom lip to feel some kind of pain that holds you back from collapsing inside and burst into tears in front of them. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, so you took that first step to hug him too, though evidently not with the same vehemence as you did with the other three. Your hands rested on his back and only for a few seconds, his hands mirrored your movements on your back, a few gentle caresses and you let each other go pretty quickly. Quick enough to feel this hug awkward, but you guess that’s what you get when you fuck with someone you consider a friend even though you feel way more for him.

“Hi, sweetheart” he smiled at you and this gesture eased the tension in you enough to get your shit together.

You took a short glance at the other three behind you, and they stared at you two as if they were watching bombs that could explode at any minute. Is it possible that they know something about what has happened between us months ago? Ahh, anyway, I have no time for this now, now that these four stand in front of me, still a total miracle and a quite big shock at the same time. You took a big breath and started telling them very quickly about your job change.

“Who did you come to?” you asked from any of them.

“Greg? Is it Greg?” Lu asked back.

“Ah so it’s you guys who he’s waiting for. Actually I just brought his papers for him, so he can ask questions from you” you grinned.

“I thought it worked a bit more modern these days” Ash smirked.

“It does, smartass, we just had a… bit of a situation in the morning, and all electronics went to shit due to a power outage.”

“And if it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have you right here right now” Cal came and gave you a half hug.

“Guys, I missed you so much, you have no idea.”

“Boys, we have one minute left…” Mike warned you and you literally saw the panic in his eyes as he looked around your little branch.

“What is it Mikey?” you asked.

“It’s just… we have to go, and I assume you have to go back to work too, but we’re staying for the night and leave only tomorrow, so I thought we could meet for a dinner somewhere? I mean, only if you want it, too, of course!” he sputtered and was eyeing Cal and Luke, though Ashton got a glance from him too.

“I’d be more than happy to do that with you guys” you shrugged with a smile on your face.

“Since you live here, you can recommend a restaurant maybe?”

“What about Ceci? It’s Italian and it’s only three corners down this avenue.”

“Sounds awesome. When will you finish?”

“At 4.”

“Then 6? Is that good?”

“Then 6, it is.”

“See you at Ceci, baby” Cal hugged you first, and all the others joined him, resulting in you melting in a group hug.

“Good luck and see you soon” you waved them goodbye, and with a huge smile on your face and a long-awaited excitement in your heart you headed back to your office.

 * * *

“Target #1 in the building” Cal made a comment.

“We can see that as well, Captain Obvious” snapped Mikey.

“Dude, calm down, and let me remind you that this whole thing was your idea.”

“I know… thanks again, Captain Obvious.”

“If you won’t stop with the captain thing, I’ll hit you on the head.”

“Would you please shut up for a minute, both of you. I can’t see from the noise you two make” Luke intervenes.

“Anyway, what’s your problem? We’re good so far, aren’t we?” Cal continues.

“But what if Ash sensed something? Weren’t we too obvious with the ‘buying gifts for the girls’ thing?”

“Don’t think so man, last time I checked we do have girlfriends…” Luke tried to reassure Mike.

“But Cal doesn’t.”

“And? I focus on myself right now!” snapped back Cal resentfully.

“Dude, that’s not the point! Good for you. I just want this to work.”

“He’s gonna be here.”

“Young amigos, if we don’t go anywhere I have to ask you to get out of the car” says the driver of the taxi they sat in. “You know I have a big family, have to give them food.”

“Luke, give me 40 bucks.”

“Why me?”

“Coz your net worth is the highest, and I’m just a poor guitarist from Sydney” scoffs Mikey.

“If this is gonna work, Ash owes me…” mumbles Luke as he slaps the money in Mike’s hand at the passenger’s seat.

“Are you sure you don’t have Scottish or Jewish ancestors…?” Mike side eyed Luke. “If this is gonna work, I’ll personally give this back to you, you mean bastard.”

“Oh shut up, Clifford.”

“Does this cover an hour route?” Mike holds out the money to the driver.

“Si senor, it’ll do.”

“Guys! Guys, target #2 is approaching the building…” Cal’s voice warned the quarreling couple, and all four men in the taxi looked in the direction of the restaurant on the other side of the road.

 * * *

 You completely lost your sense of time after you went home from the studio. To your biggest luck you have found a flat incredibly close to your workplace, actually it’s halfway through  between the studio and the restaurant, so you had time to try out at least 20 clothing combinations for the dinner. Based on how the day had started you would not have dared dream that it would end like this. You came here with the thought you’ll never see them again, and here you are, you’ll have a date with four of your best friends, and that makes you beyond excited. The long and short of it is that you ended up 15 minutes earlier at the restaurant, wearing your favorite black torn jeans with a simple V-neck white t-shirt and matching black high heels.

You were checking your phone every minute preparing yourself for them to write you in the last possible second that they’re sorry but won’t be able to make it, but no message has arrived, so you started becoming very excited by every passing minute. You were about to put your phone on the table when you looked up from it and glimpsed Ashton walking towards the table you were sitting at, the table that was booked by Mr. Clifford for 5. You rose from your seat to greet him and grabbed the opportunity to check him out very quickly and hopefully not too strikingly.

“You look wonderful” he hugged you with one hand “…and I like the jeans” he added grinning at you as his eyes lowered to the knee part of your jeans where it’s been torn.

“Well, I have to admit, there’s a slight Irwin impact on my fashion sense regarding jeans.”

“I’ll have a greater legacy than Versace” he joked.

“Ahh as to Versace, have you watched the second…”

“I have and I had no one I could talk about it with” he said semi-sadly, semi-excitedly not even waiting for you to finish the sentence.

“I know, me neither. I missed our regular series talk shows” you smiled at him.

“Anyway, it was definitely shockingly brilliant.”

 He hardly finished the sentence; the receptionist came towards you and stopped next to your table. You looked up at her simultaneously.

 “Sorry for interrupting you, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience, but Mr. Clifford just phoned us and let us know, that the remaining 3 person won’t be joining you, therefore I’d like to escort you to a quieter, more private table for two, if you don’t mind” she has flashed her nicest smile at you two.

 Both Ashton and you looked at your phones at the same time looking for some explanation behind this situation but neither of you got any messages from any of the guys and looked up from your phones as confused as the other.

 “We haven’t ordered yet, so it’s fine for me…” he told the receptionist but he looked at you all the way waiting for an approval.

“Yeah, it’s okay, of course” you blinked still confused.

“Thank you very much. As a compensation for the inconvenience, tonight’s drinks are on the restaurant.”

 You stood up and followed the lady in front of you, while looking at each other conspiratorially, because you knew something that the management of the restaurant did not - namely neither Ash nor you drank any alcohol, so the worst that can happen is the mineral water stock will be less with a few bottles.

As soon as you put your bottoms down on your seats, a waitress came to take your order, and to your waters you ordered a Caesar salad and Ash stayed with a steak though he chose salad as garnish too.

“Never thought you were the salad type” Ash noted.

“Believe me, I am still not, but you should have seen the food I was poisoning myself with since being here. My body really can use a lighter meal now. I’m literally craving it.”

“Can’t blame you. I guess everyone’s first thing to do when arriving in New York is to try all the food we see on Man vs. Food.”

“Yeah, that’s how I got to know the city, basically” you laughed. “Uhm, as to those three bastards you call your bandmates and I called friends… I assume you didn’t know about this” you cocked an eyebrow at him.

“No, I didn’t. They told me they’re going gift shopping, and that they’ll join us in time.” “Obviously they won’t now” the right corner of your mouth pulled in a sarcastic smile.

“If you don’t feel like it, we don’t have to do this…”

“Ash, no, it’s not why I…” your hand has swung quicker than you thought and by the time you realized, it already rested on Ash’s forearm, trying to keep him from standing up from the table. As soon as you saw why he’s looking at his arm you jerked your hand back.

“Hey, I didn’t plan to go anywhere“ he smiled at you seeing you blushing as he really just adjusted his chair.

“Sorry…” you whispered feeling ashamed, not exactly knowing why though.

“No, it’s okay… Actually, I’d like to talk to you about something.”

 You swallowed as if you had known what’s coming.

 “Can we talk about us?”

“Us?”

“Yes, us and that particular night. Should I remind you of…”

“No. It’s not something that just disappears. Not after how we said goodbye” you tucked your lips between your teeth as an automatic reflex because you felt your pulse getting higher, and your anxiety creeping up.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a goodbye…”

“But it was.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up when you left? We could have talked.”

“You know, I thought about it a lot since then. Even felt certain guilt. But that day was emotional enough for me, besides my life here was already pretty much prepared. At that moment it felt right.”

“And now?”

“Ash… Why did you come to me that night in the first place?” you started losing your patience as you felt him calling you to account. You wanted to show him he’s not the only one with questions.

“What do you think?”

“For months I was convinced it was out of pity from your side.”

“Out of pity… But did that really feel like it though?”

“I don’t know, Ash. Again, that day was hard enough and you didn’t make the things easier either.”

“Did you know you left a mark on me? Nail scratches on both my shoulder blades” he smiled. “A few days later I became single.”

“I didn’t want to get you in trouble” you told him with honesty and worry in your voice. You really had no idea that they are no longer together.

“It has nothing to do with it; I just thought I’ll let you know, since it made me smile when I noticed it at home. And as far as I remember it was me who knocked on your door…”

“But I could have told you to leave…” you quickly closed your eyes as instant memory moments rushed through your mind about the exact scene you were talking about. How he kissed you and picked you up in his lap, and how much you didn’t exactly protest against it, but kissed him back and wrapped your legs around his waist instead… About how your body reacted to his in a millisecond.

“Did you regret what we’ve done back then?”

“No” you said after a few seconds of silence. “But it just made things more difficult for me.”

“As of?”

“Leaving behind what I wanted to leave behind. Forgetting you” you felt a sudden sadness as you uttered these words aloud.

 You didn’t even notice how easily you eased into your conversation and that the anxiety you felt at the beginning just disappeared most likely thanks to the calmness that flowed out of Ashton, the soothing tone of his voice, the way he spoke to you.

You loved how honestly and openly you could talk about this, when it could have turned out enormously awkward as well.

 “And you? Did you regret that you came to my apartment that night?” you rested your elbow on the table while supported your head with your palm.

“No. It made me realize a few things.”

“As of?” you smiled.

“You know I don’t believe in too many things, but what I believe in is that there are no coincidences. Us meeting here, totally accidentally, has to have a greater purpose. And I’d like to tell you something and I’d like you to listen to me. I want you to know that I liked you all along. From the beginning. I always thought we had a special connection and we understood each other quite well. But I was stupid and thought we’re friends, and it’s not gonna lead anywhere, you know, you don’t shit in your own backyard… And this is what I regretted. That simply out of fear I didn’t even try to give it a chance, and when you confessed six months ago it kinda slapped me in the face. The only thing I could tell you was that I was sorry. That’s what I felt sorry about. Not you. My own self and my missed opportunity. That I was satisfied with less when I could have something more valuable too. You helped me open my eyes and as it hit me, I wanted to see you. That’s why I visited you that night.”

 As he said all these things to you, your heart just wished to leave your body. Never in your wildest dreams could you imagine that he, in any way, could feel the same like you, and now here you are.

The whirlwind came and you looked down at the table, lips trembling and the first stream of tears rolled down your face. He reached for your hand, gently grabbed it with his and you squeezed it letting all the remaining tension and anxiety go, as his thumb brushed your skin.

 “So now you know. Pity never was on the table.”

 Wiping those few stray tear drops you smiled at him as you still hold hands.

 “This whole situation is because of me, coz I fucked that up, and for this I am sorry too.”

“Ash… it doesn’t matter now. I’m glad you’re here, I’m glad we’re here. And I’d just like to hug you now, so bad” a liberated shred of laughter escaped your lips.

“I can promise you we’ll get round to it” he flashed a smile at you squeezing your hand once more before he let it go, as your ordered meals had arrived.

 * * *

 While eating you could continue with much lighter topics; he let you into their plans and ongoing work with their new material and all the shenanigans you missed while being in the other side of the states, and you told him about the musical legends and celebs you had the pleasure to meet thanks to your last two months at the radio.  It was around 8pm when you left Ceci, and tried to find a secluded place on the sidewalk where you aren’t in the way of others and they aren’t in yours.

 “Can I collect my hug now?” you smiled at him and just hoped you don’t sound too desperate, though you were not sure whether he would care at all if you did.

 You certainly did not care. Your heart got lighter, your eyes shined brighter after your dinner, and just feeling him this close, like never before, filled you with such happiness you never thought you’ll feel again. He pulled you closer and you went upon your tiptoes to wrap your hands around his neck while his arms slithered around your waist wreathing you into a tight hug. Your senses were looking for the familiar feelings - his citrus scent filled up your nose, your arms rested safely on his wide shoulders providing you the sense of security that you felt only with him.

You very slowly let go of him and stood back on your feet, as your eyes kept holding onto each other’s.

His fingertips ghosted along your arms going down to reach their destination in your palms.

 “Can I kiss you?” his eyes hiding a slight insecurity were searching yours.

“Are you really asking for permission when…” you smiled.

“I am, because this is our first date” he wasn’t waiting for you to finish.

“Then please, kiss me” you whispered still smiling.

 His hands let go of yours and found their new place on your waist pulling you closer and on the side of your neck angling your face slightly upwards so he can attach his lips on yours while your hands slid up to rest on his chest.

This kiss was different from what you shared the last time, of course no wonder, since that night wasn’t exactly about the most extensive and deepest exploration of the other. You simply didn’t have time for that, and weren’t in that particular headspace.

This kiss was feathery, gentle and exploratory – the kind that makes you lose your mind.

You felt yourself in a dream and as the seconds went by, you sensibly became needier; his fingertips pressed harder on your waist while your hands grasped his shirt on his stomach. A sense rushed through your veins, a recognition, that made you feel almost ashamed and shy for wanting to be with him again.

 A loud honk reminded you that you’re in the middle of the street, so you slowly let each other go, and still feeling the ghost of his lips on yours you leaned your forehead against his collarbone slightly shaking your head as you let out a heavier sigh.

 “Damn…”

“What?” his tone gave away that he’s smiling.

“I feel like I should be ashamed of the thoughts that are filling my mind right now.”

“If they are anything similar to mine, then yeah, you should…”

 His remark made you chuckle into his chest. You lifted your eyes on him and you felt exactly the same way as you did six months ago that night when you stood in the hall of your apartment staring at each other, trying to read from the other’s eyes and face. And again, just like back then, there was no question to which the answers couldn’t have been found in your eyes.

 “Come…” you intertwined your fingers and took a few steps backwards never breaking the eye contact.

“Where are we…” he asked as you started heading down the road.

“My flat is two minutes away.”

 * * *

 “Wake up you two! They are out!” Cal shouted, and the other three gentlemen in the car hoisted in their seats. “Not you, Pedro, you can sleep back.”

“This is my car, I wanna watch!” the driver stared out his window sticking to the windowpane, and Cal just shrugged.

“Awww, they are hugging”

“Thanks for the live broadcast, mate, but I’d rather check it myself” Luke just tried to push Cal out of the way so he can see something with his own eyes too.

“Oh, that senorita is la belleza; I’d hug her too…” Pedro remarked and his passengers shared a quick glance that made obvious what they think about their plus one – they managed to get stuck with a perv.

“Woah woah woah, oh my god, come on Ash, you get it dude!” shouted Cal as they watched their two targets embrace in a kiss.

“Yesss” Luke cried out joining in the celebration.

“Could you please move over, that’s my friend, I have to see them” Mike tried to push the driver away.

“I wanna see, I wanna see” their ad hoc driver fought back, and as he did, his elbow pressed the honk on the steering wheel.

 All four of them pulled their heads down immediately, searching for cover behind the doors of the vehicle.

 “Man, you can ruin everything” Mikey yelled at the driver grumpily.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to cause trouble” their driver justified himself.

 Carefully and very slowly they all rose from their cover, and saw the targets still standing on the sidewalk, although not kissing.

 “Let’s just hope they’ll find a hotel, if I were them I’d do…” Cal made the comment.

“Dude, you need to get laid soon…” Luke shook his head in response to Cal cocking his eyebrow.

“Just like he will be…?!” Cal indicated out the window, pointing at the pair as they hold hands and the girl takes a few steps backward still facing their bandmate.

“Damn, I’m a genius…” grinned Mikey.

 * * *

 While waiting for the elevator in the building you hardly could let each other catch your breath, being able to kiss him without any heartbreak or shame felt beyond liberating.

 “Waiiiit, shit” he pulled away from you.

“What’s wrong?”

“This time I don’t have any condoms, I wasn’t expecting… the whole press tour or this evening to take such a turn” he whispered.

“This only means… you have to… pull out in time…” you kissed it on his lips. “Can you do that for me?”

“Do you trust me?” he cupped your face looking in your eyes with his very serious ones. After all you were about to play a dangerous game, that can have consequences, so you had to be sure, you take this risk. But you trusted him more than anyone.

“You know I do.”

 After getting back to your flat, between passionate kisses you helped each other get rid of your clothes and shortly you found yourselves naked on the couch, discarded clothes here and there on the floor around you.

Ash sat on the couch; you stood in front of him as he, kissing the skin on your stomach, pushed your last piece of cloth you had on -your panties- down your legs.

Straddling him you were holding onto his shoulders, and you slowly ran down your nails on his chest to his stomach very lightly. He most likely worked out more in the last six months; his abs became more defined than what you were remembering.

He reached up to pull you closer by the back of your neck merging you in a kiss that you were getting so many in the last 20 minutes from, and yet you couldn’t get enough.

You slid your hand lower to take his hardness and as you wrapped your fingers around it he moaned into your mouth just fueling your desire to give him as much pleasure as you can. You quickly started caressing him, smearing his pre-cum on his tip, before you lifted yourself on your knees enough to position his cock over your entrance.

 “Wait, are you rea…”

“Am I ready?” you smiled at him and lead his tip over your wetness a few times. “I couldn’t be readier” you leaned towards him to kiss him again rewarding him for his thoughtfulness, since last time he made sure you were ready for him, now your kisses and touches ensured it.

 You leaned your forehead against his as you lowered yourself on him, and a soft whimper escaped both of you at the same time.

 “Fuck, woman…”

“God, you’re magic…” you gasped.

“We are” he tilted his head back against the headrest of the couch, leaving his throat free for you to lick and kiss.

 After getting used to feeling his size inside you again, with the guidance of his hands on your hips you started to grind your hips, first just slowly, up and down, then slightly increasing the pace you were riding him harder letting him fully fill you up.

Your nails scratched down from his shoulders down to his chest leaving a light mark.

 “Old habits die hard?” he breathed out making you smile with it as you brushed your fingers over the marks and you leaned forward to lick into his mouth, your hips never stopping with bouncing up and down on him.

„Is this good?” you asked him as you reached behind you, running your fingers around his balls squeezing them a little. Although you already knew the answer seeing the look in his eyes and hearing the hitches in his breathing. His body gave obvious responses to your touch.

„You haven’t been this chatty last time…” he swallowed back a groan.

„Well, last time you haven’t been this single, either…”

You were like fire on fire, perfectly igniting each other’s arousal. It was like you never felt yourself this alive.

He cupped your breasts in his hands and as you slowed your hips he took his time to caress and massage them, kiss them and suck on your nipples, circling his tongue around them sending you into hyperspace with all this sensation. Now you had the chance to discover what you couldn’t six months earlier.

Your movements slowed down as your thighs started to tire, and Ash sensing this took control over the things from then. His hands found their way back on your hips and he started to pound into you in the same rhythm you moved on him. It’s been a new sensation and his name fell from your lips like a prayer as your pleasure started to build in your core.

 “Please don’t stop, I’m so close” you whispered in his ear whimpering before you took his earlobe with his earring into your mouth pulling on it a little.

 He kept your hips in place and this time it was really just him moving his hips a bit faster than before and you screamed as your walls spamsed around his cock in you. He threw his head back and as his grip loosened on your hips you started moving again riding out your own climax.

He looked back at you and you smiled at him in your delirium, kissing him deeply for the pleasure he gave you.

Reaching under your butt he stood up and took you into your bedroom, putting you down on the bed.

 “Where do you want me?” you asked as you really were ready to give him anything he wants or needs in any position.

“Just lie down. I’d like to see your pretty face as I take you.”

 With only this one sentence he sent a jolt through you again and you did as he told, lying on your back you were waiting for his promise to be fulfilled.

Leaning over you he entered you again and with a louder moan you welcomed back that now familiar and oh so good feeling of having him inside you.  This time he picked up a quicker pace that he slowed down on purpose from time to time, you saw him struggling more and more as he tried to lengthen our moments as long as he can, but six months was six months for him too…

 “Ash, don’t hold it back” you caressed his face. “You can come. I need you to. We’ll have plenty of time to do this…” you brushed his lower lip with your thumb before he leaned down to kiss you.

 After a few more thrusts, he pulled his cock out of you, rested it on your abdomen for a second, and looking down, seeing his length lying under your stomach you wished he could put it back to feel him finish off inside you.

He took his cock in his hand and started to pump it slowly until you reached down almost immediately to replace his hand with yours keeping your constant eye contact. Seeing the lust still shining in his eyes and hearing his groans through his gasping as your warm palm covers his soft skin lightly twirling and moving on it back and forth, paying special attention to the sensitive part right under his tip was the crown of this night for you. Without moving your head, only your eyes wandered down to capture the moment of his cum spilling out onto your stomach, your eyes immediately found back to his, your teeth grazing your bottom lip. Ash’s soft moans filled the room, the moans you could hear with your ears but feel with your soul. Not stopping with stroking him, you slowed down with your movements and he leaned down to kiss you while you still kept his length in your hand, your thumb wiping the last drops off of his tip.

 “I’ll bring a cloth” he whispered on your lips after taking a look down at your stomach covered with the drops of his cum.

“You’ll find some in the bathroom cabinet.”

 You heard him run the tap and soon he came back with a wet cloth helping you get clean, then wiped himself too. After taking it back to the bathroom, he came back and lied down next to you.

 “I like your necklace” he stroked your jewelry hanging around your neck.

“It’s so beautiful, and I love it so much, I didn’t take it off since I received it.”

“Could we give this a chance? Maybe the timing wasn’t right back then, but it can be now. I want this. I want us. I want you.”

“If you’re working on to see me cry again, you’re doing it right” you smiled at him.

“I’m dead serious” he reached out to you and stroked your face.

“I know. And I’d like this too.” you took his hand in yours kissing into his palm.

“Come home to us.”

“I want to. And I will. But I have to close my barely begun life here first” you laughed.

“I won’t let you out of my reach again.”

“You better not, Irwin.”

 He drew a cross over his heart with his pointer finger.

 “In the morning we can work everything out. And this time I’ll be around.”

“Promise?” he smirked.

“Promise” you drew a cross over your heart too and leaning over him you sealed your promise on his lips with a kiss before he playfully pulled you onto his body.

 Caressing and kissing each other you slowly quieted, and with tangled limbs you finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.

* * *

 I can’t recall the last time I was this happy in my life.

Imagining a life where I open my eyes in the morning and the first thing I catch a glimpse of is the beautiful and peaceful face of the man I love was only a dream for me for so many years.

But it’s funny how life can make up for its own mistakes.

I remember the girl from six months earlier. How bad she wanted to touch him, how bad she wanted to kiss him awake, how bad she wanted to put her hand over his heart just to feel its even beating.

And now I’ll just do exactly that.

[black-morticia]

          I got inspired by that “China Dad Hires Hitman on Unemployed Son” post because of a mutual said it was the Shimadas and I decided to write a fic about it. I’m going to double post on here and on AO3. I’m not sure if I’ll just make this into a one-shot and that’s it or make it into a series called Shimada Shenanigans and be one-shots about them growing up. Kinda depends on the feedback I get on this fic or if I just wanna write about them since Blizzard isn’t giving us anything. Who knows~ 

AO3: Father Knows Best

Summary: Genji slacking off wasn’t anything new to anyone, especially not to his father. Whether it was his friends, his date for the week, or just plain laziness it was expected out of the young Shimada. So when he starts obessessing over an online game, everyone was ready to just deal with it. But Sojiro realizes he needs a new method to solve an old problem. Unconventional yes but when have parents ever made sense?

          Growing up, Hanzo and Genji would joke that every time they would annoy their father, a single white hair would grow on his head, within that very moment. And now years later in their late teens, their father’s white streak of hair was like a testimony of the stress Sojiro has endured in his 39 years. Right now, wasn’t any different.

“But dad~” Came yet another whine from Genji in the past two minutes of their already half hour long argument.

           A half hour ago, Genji “casually” brought up the fact that a few kids from his school are travelling to New York City for the summer. Hanzo already heard this speech due to Genji using him as practice before asking their father about Genji going. So when Genji waltz into the dining room, giving Sojiro a peck on his temple as he read the news, Hanzo immediately knew what was about to happen.      

“Looking sharp, father. New suit?” Genji asked, actually caring a tad bit because it was in fact a nice suit Sojiro was wearing.

“I have a meeting with the Eto clan. You know how annoying he is…” Sojiro grumbled, already dreading his day but gave no sign he was suspicious of his youngest child.

           Genji just hummed just before he gave Hanzo a wink. “So uh dad… A couple of buddies of mine are going to New York City for vacation this year.” He started out, trying to eat his breakfast as well as check for his father’s reaction.

“Oh? That sounds nice.” Sojiro answered, not taking his eyes off his papers. “Tell them to bring you back something.”

“Well actually dad. I was thinking about going.” Genji said giving his best smile despite his father not looking at him.

“Going where?” Sojiro replied.

“To New York City.”

“With whom?”

“My friends; Kazuki, Toshi, Yasou, and Goro.”

“What about them?”

“They’re going to New York.”

“And?”

“I want to go with them!” Genji yelled the last part out of frustration. Damnit, was it irritating when Sojiro would do that.

“Ohhh, I see.” Sojiro said finally putting his papers down. “No.”

           Genji blinked, while Hanzo attempted to hide his snort behind his cup. Sojiro looked at the both of them, before downing his tea, which may or may not have had a little shot of vodka in it, and standing up to head to his office.

“Give me one good reason why I can’t go!” The teen demanded, following behind their father, breakfast long forgotten.

“I will give you five. Three for the three C’s you got and two for the two F’s you got in school. And I will add a bonus. You have been slacking off during your training.” Sojiro continued walking to his office. “And until you get your grades up and actually show up for training, the furthest place you’ll be going for vacation is the front gate.”

“Oh come on!”

“Do not ‘Oh come on’ me. I am not one of your little friends, Genji.” Sojiro turned back him, to make it clear how serious he was about this. “If only you knew your homework as much as you know those damn video games, we would not be having this discussion. Which is over as of right.”

           Fast forward 30 minutes and Genji is still debating the trip with their father as Hanzo read a book as he sat on the couch. Whether or not this was even considered a debate is a debate within itself. Most debates have equal footing but Genji was nowhere near on his father’s level. But that didn’t stop Genji from continuing to push. Stubbornness was a family trait.

“God you’re being so unfair, you know that!” Genji stomped his foot like a 5 year old and not the 16 year old that he was. That alone earned him yet another sigh of annoyance from their old man. “Like grades matter when I’m going to be working in the clan anyways. I bet half the staff here didn’t even finish school.”

“Here’s the thing I want you to understand, my Sparrow. I don’t give a damn about the staff or anyone else for that matter besides my children. And to my very firm knowledge, none of them are my children. My children are you two.” Sojiro replied, finally looking up from his file that he was reading. “But that does not mean you can use your bloodline as an excuse to slack off.”

          Lord Shimada’s honeyed eyes were tired, as always, but still calm despite how long and repetitive this discussion has gotten. And beyond his previous show of annoyance, Sojiro maintained his cool composer. How their father was able to maintain his sometimes icy and distant composer was something the boys had yet to understand. They used to laugh at seeing rival clan leaders turn red with a vein bursting in their neck, as Sojiro remained unaffected by whatever insult they would throw at him. But being on the other side of it was a different story.

           Hanzo could just see how increasingly frustrated Genji was with their father. Genji was 100% in the wrong completely. But that does not mean he cannot relate to his little brother’s clear annoyance with how cold, Sojiro could be. That part he could not fault his little brother. But that is as far as his sympathy went for Genji.

“But Kazuki’s dad is letting him leave for the summer!” The green haired teen folded his arms. “And he way worse than me!”

           Hanzo scoffed. “Yeah, and Kazuki’s dad is also a 62 year old man who just married his fifth, 24 year old wife…” Genji shot a glare at his brother. “Isn’t he getting ready to go on trial for embezzlement?” As if they all didn’t know the answer to that question.

“Shut up. That’s not the point.” Genji huffed. “My point is that Kazuki’s dad-”

“Oh is that so?” Sojiro looked at his youngest son. Neither brother liked the haughty tone their father was using. “Well if Kazuki’s father is so great, why don’t you move in with them, huh?” Genji didn’t respond, unsure where Sojiro was going with this. “I am sure, him being so grand and amazing that he will have no problem moving you in, hm?” Sojiro’s smile would honestly be mistaken as genuine. “And since he is so amazing, I am positive he will buy you a new phone and car, as well as anything else, right?” In that instant, his smile dropped as he stuck his hand out. “So be sure to leave your keys and phone here.”

           The green haired teen groaned loudly, stomping his foot before storming out. Hanzo could no longer contain his laughter after the office door was slammed shut as his father pinched the bridge of his nose. “I swear we need a schedule. I cannot keep dropping everything to deal with him when he’s behaving like an infant.”

“Maybe you should let him move in with Kazuki…” Hanzo said after collecting himself. “He will understand how it is to live with someone just like him.”

           If the short glare he got was anything to go by, his father did not like that plan at all. “I just don’t understand the sudden change in him…”

“You think he got back with his ex?” Hanzo suggested.

“Which one?” The elder man scoffed.

“The one you hated.”

“Which one?”

           The elder son couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fair point. But honestly? It’s that online game he’s been playing.” Hanzo wasn’t sure how many times at night he’s caught his little brother staring unblinking at his screen, playing some MMO game.

“Game? What game? Those damn arcade games?” Sojiro asked.

“No. It’s an online game. Blade and Soul or whatever… Something ridiculous.” Hanzo pretended to not know, to hide the fact that he himself has taken up with the game as well. But unlike Genji, Hanzo had some semblance of self-control.

           Sojiro merely hummed as he leaned back in his chair. He knew his youngest son. Once Genji takes interest in something, it is hell to get him to not obsess over it. Whether if it’s a foolish idea, a movie, or even a girl/boy/omnic, Genji throws himself into it full force. What whatever his new special interest was, he hyper focuses on it for Gods’ know how long. And if it’s a game, then it’ll be even more problematic to get him to stop. Genji would strive to be the best. Competiveness was also a family trait.

“I need a drink…” The man grumbled. Hanzo snorted, before standing up, mumbling a low ‘I’ll get it’. Once he finally alone the first time that morning, Sojiro let out a heavy sigh. He found himself debating on actually taking back on what he said and just let Genji on the trip, maybe take Hanzo with him. Maybe then he’ll get some semblance of peace for a few weeks. But he realized once again he was going easy on them. They were spoiled enough as it is. And the Elders where wearing on his already low patience for them. He didn’t need them telling him how to raise his own kids any more than they try to.

           His eldest son came back with a glass of red wine, to which Sojiro gladly took. “Before you go, my Eldest… What was the name of the game, your brother is playing again?” Hanzo pretended to think before answering.

“Blade and Soul… I think?”

           Sojiro nodded before waving Hanzo away. Alone again, Sojiro took a gulp of his wine before going to his computer. A little research on what the hell his second son was playing wouldn’t hurt.

~

“Fuck this fucking game!” A shout from the youngest master’s room was heard through the halls. A crash was heard before Genji came storming out of his room furious. He swore up and down as he stomped to his elder brother’s room before slamming the door behind him. The green hair teen plomped on Hanzo’s bed, not acknowledging his sibling who was laying on his bed.

“Uh… Hello?” Hanzo was both annoyed and confused by his brother’s outburst.

“Did I ever tell you how much video games suck?!” Genji somewhat asked. Hanzo has heard this speech before (19 times to be exact) and did not want to hear it again.

          Hanzo rolled his eyes, realizing his moments of peace are over. It’s moments like this where he relates deeply with his father. Maybe they should make a schedule to deal with Genji… “Save me the theatrics Shakespeare… What happened this time? Game glitched right when you were about to beat a level?”

          Genji shot up to look at his brother with so much fire in his eyes. “I wish! Some asshole kept killing me!” Hanzo remained silent, looking at his sibling with a bored look. He opened his mouth to reply with a smart ass comment. “And before you give me a smartass comment. Yes, I know that’s the part of the game. But this was different.”  A silent ‘Sure it is’ was in the air. “The dickhead was a level 80 and I swear on mom’s grave he was stalking me! I could barely teleport before, he pop up and kill me in one attack. I even went to a different server and boom! He was there and killed me again! It was so annoying!” Genji slammed head first onto the bed, letting out a groan.

“How tragic…” Hanzo sighed. “Now can you get out of my-”

“You want to train?” The bratty teen asked, showing his face. “I want to hit something.”

           The elder brother looked baffled for a second. Since when as Genji ever suggested they train? Hanzo lost count at the many times Genji had to be dragged to the training room by his ear. But if his green haired brother was offering, he would not object. “Uh, sure? Let’s go then.”

~

           Dinner time in the Shimada household did not need to be as grand as it was but it wouldn’t be a Shimada dinner. Most of the guards are were out on a job so the dining hall was rather empty. Sojiro and Hanzo talked between each other, Hanzo mainly asking about his father’s meeting with the Eto clan and when the next meeting with their allies would be; A normal conversation between the father and son.

           Of course, in the Shimada household moments of peace were rare as Genji slammed opened the doors. He slugged his way to his seat, giving a few grunts to the guards who gave him their usual ‘Young Master’ greeting.

“Do you not intend to speak today? Or is this a vow of silence?” Sojiro asked, now turning his attention to his second son.

“I just read through eight chapters of that stupid book our teacher assigned for the summer.” Genji mumbled. “It’s so boring dad. You might like it.”

           With a twitch to his eyebrow, Sojiro choose to ignore that little comment. “What made you decide to read it then?” He went back to his plate of food, glancing at Genji from time to time.

“I can’t play my game anymore. That asshole-“

“No swearing at the table.” Sojiro was quick to correct. Genji rolled his eyes. “And if you’re going to roll your eyes, you can roll them right back to your room, Genji.”

Genji sighed dramatically but didn’t push. “Whatever. Some high level player keeps hounding me. I did everything. I changed servers. I changed my password, thinking I got hacked. I made a new character and somehow he still found me. Hell I even used Hanzo’s laptop and the prick still killed me.”

“You took my laptop?” Hanzo asked, already sounding annoyed.

“Anyways, I hate that game now. And since I can’t go to New York with my friends… I’ll be like Hanzo and- OW!” Genji felt a strong kick his shin. The younger sibling looked his brother with annoyance and to his father for assistance but Sojiro was too busy sipping from his glass of wine to care.

“Hm… How odd…” Sojiro said lowly into his cup.

           It was only for a split second, but Hanzo was sure of what he saw; a smirk. A rather cocky triumphant smirk from his father. He didn’t think anything of it until he started to remember the past few days. How so sudden Genji’s problem with his game started, how very strategic it was, how much of a coincidence the whole thing sounded.

Very odd indeed.

~

           Normally, Hanzo would knock on his father’s office door and wait until he was granted permission but he couldn’t wait. In his defense he did knock, but gave his father no time to even speak before he said anything. Looking over his glasses as he stopped writing, Sojiro was confused by this sudden intrusion from his first born.

“Something you ne-”

“It was you.” Hanzo declared with his arms folded and the most smug grin on his face.

“Me?” Sojiro asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yes. You. And you know what I’m talking about, so you should just admit it.”

“I honestly don’t.” Sojiro put his pen down, and looked his son even more uncertainty.  

           Hanzo scoffed. “You and I both know you are too smart and too prideful to play dumb. It’s not a good look for you. So quit pretending.” Hanzo was so sure of himself about this.

           Sojiro let out a heavy sigh, taking off his glasses, leaning back in his chair. “Okay fine. I was the one who cheated during last week’s card game. Happy?”

“Yes- Wait what?” Now it was Hanzo’s turn to be confused.

“Honestly, I know I am the first to talk about honor in victory but when a lot of money is on the line, honor can come second.”

           A paused ensued, before Hanzo spoke. “First off. I want a rematch. Secondly, I am talking about Genji’s stupid game. I know you have something to do with it somehow. I saw that smirk you had last night when Genji told you about it.”

           Sojiro folded his arms, looking at his first son intently before chuckling. “So what if I did? You know your brother. He was not going to listen to reason. So yes, I had to take matters into my own hands. As I always do around here.”

“I knew you were ruthless but wow…” Hanzo shook his head with a smirk. “So how did you do it? Call the game company to target Genji’s character?”

“We are a clan of assassins, my Eldest. I merely hired an outside party. It was not hard to find the top players of the game and ask one of them to handle Genji’s character every time he logged in.”

“I can see the headline now… Japan Dad Hires Virtual ‘Hitman’ To Take Out Lazy, Video-Gaming Son. Catchy huh?” That smug grin on Hanzo’s face was starting to bug Sojiro. He could feel it in his wallet.

“Not as catchy as Japan Dad Hires Real Hitman on His Rat of a Son for Snitching on Him.” Sojiro hissed out.

Hanzo shrugged. “Hm… Mines better. However I’m not going to tell Genji…” Sojiro patiently waited for the ‘but’ in that statement. “But I will expect a raise in my allowance by this week.”

Sojiro scoffed, waving his son off. He knew his wallet was going to be affected by this. “Yes, yes, yes. Fine. Now shoo. I have a lot of work to do.” Hanzo gave his father another smile before heading out. He’s positive that a white hair just sprouted in his father’s hair just now. Lord Shimada huffed, shaking his head as he turned in his chair to look out his giant window. He couldn’t help but scoff.

“Gamers…”

[sweet-taiyaki]

Sin City Sour

Warning: Some violence, sexual themes, angst, gun violence, language

I was celebrating how I managed to smuggle in illegal drugs with my team. All of a sudden, I was approached by these men, that were armed. “Get dressed, we have to take a ride. The boss wants to meet you.” Oh, how romantic. Nothing like being blindfolded by a bag, hands zip tied, and legs strung together by rope. Unfortunately, I’m in this situation more than you think. Don’t tell the bad guys, but I’m actually a CIA agent undercover. My real name is Vincent Hawthorne and today I’m playing the part of Benito Salazar, a member of a Spanish cartel shipping an illegal drug to the States. I basically feel like an infamous citizen at this point by all the missions I’ve done. I barely even know who I am anymore.

The men tie me to a chair and remove the bag from my head. I can see my gun, my burner phone, and my speedo. There were two men on each side of me with AK-47s. They seem poorly built though. “The boss” comes out of the shadows and starts laughing. “Out of all the idiots in the world, this is the top Spanish cartel leader? ¿Cuál es tu propósito? (What is your purpose),” he asked. I stood silent. This guy seems like an amateur leader that just wants to move up in the cartel hierarchy. My job is to prevent that from happening. “Mi equipo no puede ser derrotado. Decidimos matar a cualquiera que se estorbo. (My team cannot be defeated. We decided to kill people that get in the way),” I said confidently. My Spanish is okay, well actually all the languages I’ve learned are okay. I just basically know the gist of killing people and it seems to work. His guys grip their guns. They seem pretty intimidated, or angry. I see my phone go off, Costa was the name of the contact. The boss looks at my phone. “Yo no respondería (I wouldn’t answer that),” I said. The boss answers it anyway. The first bombs go off as warnings. “Puta madre!” I bust out of the zip ties and run as I get shot at, but then I set off the second set of bombs that blow up the place. I jump into a properly timed CIA squad car as I peel away the prosthetics and got away before they could escape the building.

“Nice to see you again,” said Ivy. “Just because you are a princess that can’t break a nail, it would have been nice to have some back up,” I said to her as she rolled her eyes. Ivy was an undercover agent, but then she moved up to the head of Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, so now she’s my boss. “I’d love to sit and chat, Vince, but I have another assignment for you.” Spoiler alert, Ivy and I had a small fling when we were on an assignment together, and I think she still has feelings for me, but reading a woman is so hard. “Do you overwork me because you hate me, or you actually give a shit about these citizens? To be fair, I haven’t been called Vince in over 5 years by the amount of undercover work I’ve done.” “I put you on because you’re the best at it,” she said, “At the end of the day, you give a shit about saving the people in the end because you created a relationship with them.” Great. So, now I’m a superhero that comes and goes for people because they ask for help.

Ivy drops me off at my apartment. “See you at 7 am,” she says and drives off. I live in New York. I sleep in this crappy apartment, but the view at night overlooks the Brooklyn Bridge. You would think I’d date, but I can’t by working all over the world from bad guys.

I woke up at 6 am, showered, and stared at myself in the mirror. I almost didn’t recognize myself. The Spanish cartel mission lasted a year and I had my tattoos covered. I had a black wig, but my hair is brown. My nose and jaw were made of prosthetics and I wore brown contacts when my eyes were blue. I almost cried, but I got ready for work to meet the HBIC.

I sat down in a chair, drinking my coffee, then I was approached by this intern that seemed to be starstruck by me. This kid was almost on the verge of hyperventilating. “You’re Vince Hawthorne! I’ve heard so much about you and your work,” he said. I felt like I should play with the kid. “No, no, sir. My name is Fabio. Parli italiano,” I said. The kid seemed in shock. “Oh, I’m sorry, Fabio. I thought you were someone I read about.” Ivy stood up in front of the podium.

“Good morning, everybody. I’m sure you may have heard that the Spanish cartel has been shut down and have been taken into custody. However, we have another mission, and it’s gonna be a little different. This one will only last a month at the latest. Our citizen’s name is twenty-three-year-old, Hayley Fay. She also goes by the name of ‘Rosé’ since she strips on the side without her parents knowing. Fay lives in Las Vegas. She met a client that was acting creepy, bouncers kicked him out, found out he was one of the hitmen to kill her. The mission is to save her from harm and put an end to her creep stalker. Mr. Hawthorne will be with the citizen to keep her safe and I will organize a team to assist him in Vegas in 48 hours. Thank you.”

All the men approach me so they can go to Vegas with me. I immediately find Ivy. “Ma’am, with all due respect, please pick the right people with me. I don’t want these low life, creepy middle aged men working along side me.” She stopped in her tracks, “You really believe that I would do that to those girls, no way. I’m organizing a team strategically. You’ll find the results on your flight. Here’s your identity.” She hands me my passport and state id. Ryan Sparrow is my new name. “Thanks, I appreciate that you put in my love of Johnny Depp in there.” She smiled then said quietly “Captain” as she walked away.

I get on the plane and found out that I’m with the intern. I mean, he was younger than me, but I think the kid is 21. Of course, he sat next to me. “Vince—” “The name is Ryan. Nice to meet you kind sir.” I grabbed his hand and pull his ear to my face. “I realize that this is your first gig, but we are undercover. You reveal my identity, you die.” He was scared and intimidated. We lift off into the air and I took a nap. I woke up and the kid was still a deer in headlights. I roll my eyes, but I knew I had to do something. “Hey, kid. I’m sorry. I’m just in the mode and I don’t want any of us to get hurt.” He nodded and started to realize that this is the real deal and that people could die if he didn’t keep his mouth shut.

We land in Vegas and check in to the Cosmopolitan. My team consisted of 6 guys, we decided to take a bachelor party approach. Jake, the groom; Chase, the best man; Hunter, the little brother of groom; Dylan, childhood friend of groom; Tyler, the kid and coworker; and myself, friend of groom. We got to our rooms and we had the view of the Bellagio Fountains. “Boss, did good,” Chase said. I get a call from Ivy. “Well well well, does this remind you of when we were in Paris,” I smirked. “Enough, Vince. I have cars for everyone that is in the garage. You’ll find the keys in your room. Everything you need for the mission should be in the car. I’ll be on the first flight there if anything goes wrong.” She hung up and we made our way down to the garage to find Mustangs in different colors. The guys got all excited, but these are nothing compared to Lamborghinis. We found burner phones to keep in contact, some pistols fully loaded, earpieces, beer and liquor, and some essentials. Ivy even gifted each of us a designer suit for the occasion.

Unfortunately, I’m the only one in the group that has been to Vegas, so the guys don’t really understand the lifestyle. Tonight, we plan to let loose, so they know the ins and outs of Vegas. Hopefully, they will remember it all. We pregame with shots of liquor, then hit the strip. The guys were in awe how women would just flirt with them. I got a table at a club, which is instantly a chick magnet. The guys picked a girl to flirt with and I went to the bar. “A Boston Sour, please.” The bartender seemed surprised. “Any preference on bourbon,” she asked. “Whatever you like,” I said confidently. She smiled and made the cocktail. “It’s nice to make something that isn’t White Claw or a vodka lemonade,” she said. “Now I know what to order next.” She laughed and served another guest. I do some surveillance of the club. There seems to be a good amount of security around the club, but then I found out that there was a table across the club that had men in suits that didn’t want any women at their table unless they stepped on the dancefloor. I looked away before they could notice me. The group of men left the club. I told the team that I would follow them through the earpiece.

At this point, I sobered up and was in the mission. I followed the group of men to a strip club, which happened to be Harley’s workplace. They went inside, but I decided to take a detour by going around to the back door. Fortunately, I found Hayley before her shift started. She worked the graveyard shift, midnight to 6 am. Hayley and the dancers looked over to me. “Ms. Rosé,” I said. “Out of all the girls, you pick Rosé,” a woman said as if she was insulted. “May I have a word? Just a few seconds, no favors or anything. I just want to talk,” I offered my hand. She took it, but she was kinda nervous. I pulled her out to the alleyway. “I don’t have much time to explain, but my name is Ryan Sparrow. There is a group of gentlemen that are here to kidnap and kill you.” She immediately got scared. “How do I know that you’re not one of them,” she panicked. “I like to think of myself as the ‘superhero’ character. Usually people don’t say that they will kill you. They just do. I’m hired to protect you. Do you trust me?” Hayley looked me and she nodded. I stuck her in my car and drove off.

The last few guys from the group of men saw that I took Hayley. “Ah, shit,” I said. The men got into their SUV and chased me. Of course, they were armed. I knew my gut was right about these group of guys. I tried calling my team to help me out, but the car kept shooting at me. No one answered. I tried to lose them by going through some alleyways and difficult turns, but they didn’t seem to lose their speed. I released some small bombs to pop the tires, but not injure the people around the car. It worked and all four tires were popped. It created a small explosion, but not enough to kill them. The guys continued to shoot at my car, but I ended up losing them, for now.

I got Hayley back to the hotel. She looked around to see all the technology I had set up. She looked at me and started laughing. “So, you must really be my superhero,” she said in a flirtatious way. “Kind of. I like my job and saving lives. I just want to make the world a happier place.” Hayley leaned into me. “Well, you came to the right place. How can I be of service for you?” She stuck her fingers in my pants and ran them across my waistline and crotch. “Hayley,” I said. She stopped and looked at me in shock. “No one calls me Hayley, but my parents. Did they send you to look over me?” She started getting angry. “No, I told you that I’m here to save you. I’ve never met your parents. My job is to get rid of the bad guys so you can be safe,” I said, pretty much like a father. Dammit. “At least your parents are alive. Mine were killed in front of me and I couldn’t react because it would have blown my cover and true identity. After years of being undercover, I don’t even know who I am. I became this robot to save people because I give a shit about justice and doing the right thing. It fucking sucks that I see people die and I can’t have any emotion when all I want to do is bury myself and cry. But I wasn’t put on this Earth to cry. I knew that I wanted to help people.”

I can’t believe I just confessed that, but I knew that it would reel her in and trust me. “I never said that to anyone, and I don’t want to lose you. So please, stay with me and I’ll keep you safe here and get rid of these men out to get you.” I got up as she looked at me and I looked back to her. “You’re gonna kill them,” she asked. I chuckled. “It’s either them or you, and it won’t be you.” She got up, kissed me passionately, and wished me luck as I left the hotel room, which was kinda unexpected.

It’s around 3 am. I get down to the lobby and I found my team completely wasted. I tried to keep my head down, but they recognized me. “Hey man!” They all shouted. I grabbed everyone by the bathroom. “Guys, seriously. Don’t enter my room, the citizen is in there. She’s quite scared so please just act professional.” The intern looked at me and knew that I was serious. “Don’t worry, Ryan. I’ll make sure no one goes in your room.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder and it looked like he was gonna cry. I moved them away and continued my mission to find the group of men.

Surprisingly, I was walking through the Circus Circus casino and saw one of the guys. I stayed hidden, but followed him to the hotel room, assuming the boss would be there. I knocked out the guy I followed after he got to his floor, out of the camera view. There were two big guys chatting outside a room with double doors. A group of girls came to the floor and saw the guy I knocked out in front of them. “Sorry, my friend can’t hang,” I said. The girls laughed and I smiled and winked at one of them. They were going towards the room with the double doors. I follow them and was stopped by the two guys. They closed the door. “No men allowed, turn the other way, pretty boy.” I knocked them out and snuck my way into the room. There was a party going on with a DJ, liquor bottles everywhere and another guarded door.

The guards see me and I make my way to them. “You wouldn’t want to traumatize these women, by a blood bath, would you? Kill me in private, or even take me to your boss.” They patted me down, found my burner phone, and let me in. The boss was covered in girls. All of them were laughing, drunk. I closed the door behind me and the room went silent. “Ooooo he’s cute,” said one of the girls. The boss took out a gun and shot her. The other girls ran out in panic and the boss came up to me. “Pretty boy with the mustang, huh. You tried to save your whore,” he looked me up and down. “She is so beautiful, and out of all the women I’ve bought as my slave, I wanted her. She would have been a great showpiece in my collection.” I started to get angry, but I knew if I showed any emotion, it would blow my cover. “Actually, Mr. Barsotti, I’m a man like you. I cum in girls all day. And when I’m your age, I’m gonna be just like you, buried in women, wanting me. I’m inspired by you and thought that you could give me some tips. No hard feelings. I just want the best and I knew the girl I got was the best.” He laughed and patted my shoulders. “Atta boy, you could be my apprentice. Would you like to join the team?” I nodded and he gave me an M-15. “Do you know how to use it,” he asked me. I looked at it nervously. He pulled a gun to my head. “Well now you do, go out there and—”

I heard gunfire outside the room. I dropped the M-15 and punched Mr. Barsotti. He fell to the ground and his two bodyguards pointed their guns and me and started shooting. I took cover, but I knew they were coming closer. I escaped through the vent to the other room. I saw my team in the room. They killed the door guards and started to help the other women escape. I go back to the room with the bodyguards and fought them. One of them had a knife and managed to slash my right arm. Thankfully, I have even strength in both arms, but both of them were too strong. My face is covered in blood and they wouldn’t stop beating me until they knew I was dead. I could barely move and I knew this was probably the end. I saw them take their guns and point them at my face. I closed my eyes and I heard four guns shots.

“Ryan, Ryan” I heard faintly. I was outside the casino with police cars and an ambulance early in the morning. “Are the girls safe,” I said. “Yeah, they’re safe and Mr. Barsotti was taken into custody. We thought we lost you, man.” My arm was bandaged, and my face had some stiches, but I was okay. “I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Together we gave those women a future.” They all smiled at each other.

I decided to go back to the hotel to pack up and leave. I brought some coffee and a fruit cup for Hayley. I got in my room and she was sound asleep, knowing that she was safe. I woke her up, gave her breakfast. “You’re free, you are safe now. The boss was actually holding women hostage as his slaves and we saved them. So it’s like a double win.” She sighed in relief as she rolled out of bed. “Thank you, Ryan. Do you mind if I call you for all my stalkers? Oh my God, what happened to your arm,” she panicked. “I’m fine, I’ll escort you to your house, if that’s okay.” She nodded.

I took Hayley to her parent’s house. They hugged her as soon she opened the door. I walked back to my car when I heard a ‘wait’. “Please, may I call you,” Hayley asked me. I laughed, wrote on a piece of paper, and gave it to her. She opened it. “Seriously, 911?” I laughed and said, “I can’t always be there for you, unfortunately. I have more people to save. I hope it inspires you to save people.” She turned around to her parents and looked at me, “Thank you, Ryan.” She got back into her parent’s house. “It’s Vince,” I said softly. I drove off and left on the first flight back to New York.

I got back to work the following day. Ivy approached my team and congratulated them on their success defeating Mr. Barsotti and his cartel. “Hawthorne, see me in my office, please.” I sighed angrily. I was not ready to take on another mission. Thankfully, this last one was pretty short and sweet, but I felt another long mission ahead of me. She closed the door behind me and I let loose. “Ma’am, with all due respect, I am exhausted—” “Stop, that’s not what I called you in here.” I was confused, if it wasn’t about work, then what would I be in her office for? “Vince, you save lives, plenty of lives. And I know that what you’ve gone through is definitely not easy. I know you can’t save everybody, but you definitely make the world a better place by taking the bad people to justice. With that, I brought you in today to be yourself.” I laughed. “Be myself, what kind of advice is that?” She rolled her eyes and I know she was trying to be genuine. “We are giving you three months of paid time off. You deserve it after being my partner years ago to now. You are an incredible agent and this is my present to you so you can get back to your normal life.” I contemplated what she said and I know her intention was sincere and caring. “Thank you, Ivy.” We got up and hugged each other. “It’s good to have a friend like you,” I said as I left her office.

I celebrated with the team at a bar. We watched some sports, got a couple rounds of beers. This was me. It just felt right. I saw Ivy come into the bar with a guy and saw her join a group of their friends. I saw there was a ring on her finger, and they kissed. She looked at me and I raised my glass to her. She smiled. Dammit. I lost her.