#technically i got a free meal for volunteering

[tidepoolalgae]

.

[bomberqueen17]

followup: countertops

OK pictures under the cut but before you judge me, understand that i went into this remodel saying "i don't want everything white and gray!!!!" and then one at a time we considered our options and realized the best options were... whites... and grays...

but! the white countertop has SPARKLES in it, and as I tell the saga I will tell you the inside scoop the countertop installer gave me, as to WHAT THE SPARKLES ARE MADE OF.

i would put in a little video of the sparkle but i can't figure out how to upload videos anywhere so just imagine it. you can kind of see it in some of the still images.

[image description: a young man in a gray hoodie and orange gloves rests my not-yet-installed stainless-steel sink on the top of the cabinets in front of my windows, which don't yet have countertops.] These guys rolled up at 8:15 and politely introduced themselves, Devin and Isaac. My buddy Max had already rolled in, but Jim had planned on arriving at 8:30 and was running late.

Devin said to me, excitedly, "Did they tell you? We did it seamless!" There had been discussion of whether the corner section would have to be fabricated in two sections or whether they'd be able to do it in one.

They asked Max about some technical details, but Max demurred, "Jim knows about it, I'm just here to help," and they said "ah we'll wait for Jim" but then they were like "well we can just get started" and as it happens they'd just about finished before Jim finally rolled up, LOL.

They installed the sink first, as it's an undermount and so way easier to do before the counter goes in.

But the counters-- they just-- set them down, checked the level, checked the measurements everywhere, and then just put silicone around the edges underneath and on top. That's literally it. I asked if it was ever more complicated and Devin was like ah yeah if we have to level it there's a whole thing, but. I mean. Jim did this so I knew it'd be this easy, that's why you're first for us today.

[image description: an expanse of speckled white countertop, with reflections from the lights. You can kind of see a speck here and there of the sparkles. the color is somethingorother-snow, because it does glitter like snow.]

I admired the glitter, and Devin said, "Guess what the sparkle's made of!"

"Glass," I hazarded.

"Close," he said, "but no." When nobody else had another guess, he said, "CDs! It's made of CDs." This is a quartz-like-composite kinda thing, which means it kinda looks like stone and is shiny like stone (instead of matte like Corian etc) but won't shatter your plates quite like stone and is easier to maintain.

I texted this to the family groupchat, and VegMan said (my sister must have read it aloud to him, he's not on the family groupchat) "Oh, AOL CDs?" and I texted it to Dude separately and he wrote back "That's like 750000 free minutes of AOL!" and when I repeated these jokes to Devin, Isaac, and Max, they all kind of looked politely blank. "Oh no," I said, "you're too young."

"I was born in 2001," Devin volunteered, and Max laughed and said "same". (I do not think Isaac is any older.) "They used to give me video game CDs in my Happy Meals though so I know what you mean."

I've lived in this house since both of you were four years old, I thought, but did not say. "In 2001 I was..." "Adulting," Devin said helpfully. "You... could call it that," I said, thinking back to my senior year of college.

They brought in the little chunk of counter that's going over next to the fridge, and then the bigger chunk that's the sink counter. Then they brought in the big one they'd managed to do seamless, the L-shaped chunk that goes from the stove around the corner to the expanse in front of the bay window that will be our dining area. Devin and Isaac planned out where they'd go and how they'd get it in the door, because they knew it was heavy. Then they got in the door and Devin said "Max! Max I know I don't know you but I need you to help me!" and Max hustled over and grabbed the heavy end, because it really was too heavy for Devin, and Isaac had the other end so he couldn't help.

It was a strain for both of them, but they carefully got it up onto the cabinets, and slid it painstakingly into place, and Devin took a moment to recover.

[image description: a person in a gray hoodie is sitting on the cardboard-covered floor of a white room with gray cabinets, applying silicone from a tube to the underside of the white countertop]

They checked the levels and measurements and made sure there were no gaps and then they just... glued it. Like not even really glued it they just applied a bead of silicone around all the edges, and that's that.

"Is it really that easy?" I asked, and Devin laughed and said "if it's not perfectly level we have to shim it, and there's a whole lot of complicated stuff we gotta do then, but the reason I put this job first is I know Jim put these cabinets in so I know they're level. And if they're level then yeah this is all that's gotta happen."

They look so good. They sparkle like snow. The room is a sea of neutrals.

[image description: from my living room looking into my kitchen, with the stove pulled out awkwardly into the middle of the floor, one man is standing to work on the counter near the sink and another man is sitting on the floor checking the underside of the counter in front of the window.]

Jim showed up as they were finishing, checked on a few things, signed off on the job, and then he and Max set to tiling the backsplash. Which I will cover in a separate post because this is enough for right now. But.

The counters!!! I wish I could figure out how to make a gif out of a little video on my phone because the SPARKLE. Yeah the white countertops and white walls and white ceilings are a bit much but understand two of the walls and all of the window trim are getting painted some bright color or other, so it won't be like this forever.

[writernopal]

It Blursday!! 🖤💜

WE’RE TAKING THE SQUADDIES TO EISENGARD!

You don’t have to fill all the roles, and they don’t all have to be from the same WIP, but who’s:

the Ring-bearer, entrusted with carrying the One Ring (bonus: funniest instance they use it to nope right out of reality)

the “Sam”, armed with a frying pan and a wizard of potatoes

Sean Bean, who dies in every movie — falls victim to their own hubris

totally crushing on Arwen and has a really cool sword

AND MY AXE

AND MY GLOCK BOW

Merry and Pippin the “package deal”, very concerned about missing second breakfast

the dude with a sick staff and a concerning amount of explosives, may or may not be an actual wizard

— @outpost51

Happy Blursday Korb!

Oh this question omg haha I've been looking at it all day and I'm rubbing my grubby little hands in anticipation to answer it!

the Ring-bearer, entrusted with carrying the One Ring (bonus: funniest instance they use it to nope right out of reality)

Mariel. The group unanimously agrees that she is the least likely to be corrupted by it and she is probably the only one responsible enough not to misplace it. She probably nopes out the minute Axtapor starts trying to make her stutter or generally make her nervous. I like the idea of him flirting with her, thinking he has the upper hand and then she just disappears LOL. I'm imagining his reaction is like those dogs who get surprised with that blanket disappearing trick.

the “Sam”, armed with a frying pan and a wizard of potatoes

He's not technically my character, but he is part of the AASOAF cast sooo I can't resist throwing @illjustpretend's Sartor in here because he fits this role SO WELL. He can't fight worth a damn but he'd fucking clock you with a frying pan for free and he might accidentally kill you because he doesn't know his own strength.

Sean Bean, who dies in every movie — falls victim to their own hubris

Oleander. It's always Oleander because he thinks he's much stronger/more powerful than he actually is.

totally crushing on Arwen and has a really cool sword

WILKES. The biggest pining idiot of them all! Also he carries a broadsword and a jeweled cutlass with him like all the time so it fits.

AND MY AXE

Axtapor WAAAAAHHHHHH He'd follow Mariel anywhere and you bet he'd volunteer to go with them! Also he knows how to fight with almost any weapon under the sun, you put an axe in his hands and you'll be sorry you did!

AND MY GLOCK BOW

Fay, begrugingly. She's got damn good aim and she'd go along under the pretense that she will probs get something out of this. Though the more likely reason she'd want to go is to kick ass lol.

Merry and Pippin the “package deal”, very concerned about missing second breakfast

Jace and Rapheus BECAUSE WHO ELSE?! They are absolutely the types to want to stop and smell the roses and also get all of the hobbit meals in because they typically aren't the ones doing any sort of fighting, so they'd definitely be concerned about keeping their energy up lol.

the dude with a sick staff and a concerning amount of explosives, may or may not be an actual wizard

KIRIK RRRAAGGGGH!!! He's not a mage but he'd definitely carry a staff around to fool people into thinking he is and if you don't think that this guy is obsessed with explosives you'd be dead wrong. Who do you think taught Axtapor to make them?

[wehavebiggerproblems]

Fallout 4 Random Companion Headcanons

Wrote these a few years ago, too nervous then to share them.

Ada

-Ada was built in 2268. She's about 21 years old.

-Her first memory is of seeing The Mechanist in front of her. Then she watched as The Mechanist removed their head and smiled.

-She's Isabel's first project. 

-Her voice was originally supposed to be more synthesized and robotic, but the more human sound was easier for Isabel to work with.

-Ada prefers to travels in groups with 3-4 people, knowing fully well a robot is a higher target for scavvers.

- Her base body was constructed from many different trial runs of the "ADA" project.

-She's programmed to remain indifferent but the nagging voice in her programming says to do good things in order to to aid other people.

-Ada appreciates the effort Sole goes through to upgrade her body. She doesn't think it's necessary and she's somewhat sentimental about her original form.

-She finds Codsworth's attachment to Sole strange. Almost too human, those Mr. Handy's.

Cait

-Cait loves baths. Bubble baths with bath bombs and even a little rubber ducky. Only Sole knows this.

-The rubber ducky's name is Codsworth. Will not explain why.

-Can fire a rifle over her shoulder behind her. (Annie Oakley style)

-Hates Jazz music. Says it's too slow and calm. Really dislikes it because she's uncomfortable slow dancing with anyone.

-Allergic to feathers. Rad chickens make her sick to be around.

-But once the feathers are removed, the chicken has been cut up, and cooked with some veggies and a loaf of bread, loves it.

-Chicken soup is her favourite dish. Only likes Sole's chicken soup though. Will not eat anyone else’s.

-Shot put would be her favourite sport. Throwing a heavy metal sphere a very long distance is goals.

Codsworth

-Codsworth can speak 8 languages. Including: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Polish, and Swedish.

-Can recognize almost every written language and translate but lacks the programming to speak every one.

-Nate/Nora got him two years before Shaun was born.

-Sole did minimal repair work on him, and offered to polish him every time he got a dent or scratch.

-He always accepted the polish offer. Very wary of Sole doing factory repairs on him. Would prefer professionals doing the delicate work.

-Always celebrated Nate/Nora and Sole’s respective birthdays. For 200 years.

-When Sole called him "Family", he felt an odd electric pulse through his core processor. He decided to call it a skipped heart beat.

-Calls synth Shaun "Sonny", and "Young Master Shaun".

-Makes Sole's favourite meal when they come back home from Vault 111.

-Will ask to take over if he catches Sole doing chores.

-Hesitates when he has to bring up Sole's spouse knowing it's a touchy subject.

-His favourite friend of Sole's is Nick. Thinks Nick is a good role model for synth Shaun.

Curie

-Curie, like Codsworth can speak 8 languages. However, after becoming a synth, she can only speak about 4.

-Curie loves the feeling of velvet. Collects pieces of velvet clothing. 

-Once wore a velvet cape around because she loved the way it draped over her shoulders and fluttered when she walked.

-Has sensory phases. Music, nice noises, soft materials, different foods, perfumes, etc. Collects whatever makes her senses happy.

-During the "feeling phase" her favourite feeling was holding Sole's hand. Loved running her hand over the surface of water. And velvet.

-Talks out what her feelings are with Piper. Piper explains to her what the "spin spin spin" in her head meant.

-Favourite smell is fresh baked bread. Bakes bread with Mama Murphy every weekend.

-Favourite sweet food is mutfruit pie. Will badger Piper to make it with her.

-Curie's motor functions are still new. Sometimes she misses what she was trying to grab and fumbles.

Danse

-Danse is a horrid mechanic. You'd think spending time in the BoS and dedicating time to auto repair with Ingram. Can't put a toaster together.

-But Power Armor is a piece of cake. Can't do much with pre-war tech, yet fixing power armor is as easy as making breakfast.

-Like all gen 3 synths, he loves Fancy Lad snack cakes. He'd share whatever box he'd find with the squires around the Prydwen.

-Scribe Haylen would volunteer to work alongside Danse on all his scouting missions.

-Danse found out Deacon was the one who stuck the dildo to his power armor. He made sure Deacon's wigs were the same bright purple color the very next day.

-Loves country music. When a traveling courier stops by and shares their western/country music, he actually dances. 

-Has a heart for kids. Even Billy. 

-Leg bouncing habit. Can't bounce his leg in power armor but as soon as he's out, his leg's jittering.

Deacon

-Deacon is in his late 40's. 

-Did not lie about his wife and the University Point Deathclaws.

-Enjoys learning about Pre-war culture, spends free time with ghouls asking them about the past.

-Sole can fool him easily about prewar facts though. 

-Has incredible luck with the pie claw game. Has won 8 times while traveling with Sole.

-Loves making silly bets. "I bet I can skip this plate across the lake at least 1 time." Proceeds to throw the plate at the water horizontally. 

-Doesn't hate Danse. He will pull pranks on him though. Once stuck a dildo on the back of Danse's power armour. 

-His hair grows quickly so he has to shave every day.

-Shaves his head, isn't bald. Shaved head works better with his pompadour wig. 

-Doesn't like mutfruit. Says it's too acidic and hurts his gums.

-Has a rifle-shaped scar on his forearm. Will tell a different story for it every time.

-Once drank a dozen Nuka Cola Quantums on a dare. His pee glowed for a week.

-Tried going vegetarian once. ONCE. Found out being vegetarian means eating no meat or dairy products. Had to have Sole explain that, while gross, radroach could technically be  considered meat.

-Is kinda clumsy. Always bumps into counter edges and stubs his toes on bits of debris.

-Doesn't lie about his family. And when Sole calls him family, promises to never lie about family again.

Gage

-Gage juggled skii balls to entertain the last Overboss, Colter.

-He enjoys small shooting competitions with MacCready, Sole, and X6. All four are sharp shooters.

-Fastest learner. Spent an entire week learning how to cook Sole's old recipes. He can cook them better than anyone with the exception of Codsworth.

-Hums when he works. 

-Had a one night stand with Nisha. Ended so bad, he avoids that area of the park at all costs.

-Hates cats. Had an awful run in with a rad lion. Radiated Mountain Lion that tore a scar deep down his back. 

-Does routine maintenance on the rides in the park. He knows how everything works there. From social hierarchy - to the intricacies of the Vault Tec: Among the Stars ride.

-His favourite flavour of Nuka Cola is Nuka Cola Victory. Rare to find but easily the best.

-Record farthest shot is a bean can from 410 meters. 

-He's a lightweight. Only two beers and he's buzzed enough to sing along with Red-Eye.

-Will tell a different story every time if anyone asks about the eye patch.

Hancock

-Hancock is a history buff. Loves learning about colonial era civilization. 

-Has spent days with Kent Connolly researching Silver Shroud information. He knows more about the Silver Shroud than any other companion.

-Has had a fling with every person in Goodneighbor at least once. Even Kleo. 

-At least in a sexual way, he is extremely open minded. Welcomes new experiences and new information given anywhere anytime.

-Had a decent childhood with his brother. He remembers tending to the mutfruit trees with him and eating every other piece they picked.

-Adores pickles. Would sit and eat an entire jar of pickles just because he loves the cronch so much.

-All time favourite chem is Mentats. Loves making intellectual jokes while high as a kite.

-Does not know what a lot of pre-war expressions mean, but enjoys saying them and hearing them from Sole.

-Is a master at repairing clothing. How else does the frock stay in such good condition? He tends to it every night.

-As far as euphemisms for ghouls go, he likes "beef jerky".

Longfellow

-Longfellow met Hannah while out hunting. She blasted a trapper's head clean off, and he fell harder than the trapper's body.

-He spent his youth training, hoping to become a Brotherhood soldier one day.

-And then he met a vertibird full of them. They called Far Harbor a dump while gathering supplies there. Officially decided to cease all training.

-Managed to take down 17 Mirelurks in 3 minutes. 

-Holds the record in Acadia for alcohol consumption. All records involving alcohol consumption.

-He's really fit? Longfellow could and has bench pressed Sole. 

-He only did so because Hancock and MacCready wouldn't shut up about it.

-Loves singing old shanty songs and dancing with Sole. Only when no one else is around though.

-After the events at Far Harbor, he decides to go sailing along the coast. Wants to see the world more.

MacCready

-MacCready does brush his teeth. He brushes his teeth regularly. He started brushing after he left Little Lamplight. By that point the damage was already done.

-Lucy was the one to convince him to brush his teeth.

-He can't stand the smell of lavender. Lavender candles, lavender lotion, etc...makes him feel  nauseous.

-He named his sniper rifle, "Lucy"

-Won't drink brahmin milk with cereal even to Sole's encouragement.

-Is very well read. Vault 87 had many educational textbooks hidden among the super mutants.

-MacCready was the longest lasting mayor in L.L. He was mayor for 6 years.

-He has no idea what television is and is afraid to ask any pre-wars about it.

-Wary of all ghouls, both feral and normal. He's not bias to non-ferals, but he is a little uncomfortable.

-Had a crush on Lone Wanderer when they first visited L.L. Mac told Joseph and he made fun of him.

Nick

-Nick has an oral fixation. Smokes out of habit and having the familiar feeling of a cigarette between his lips feeds into human nostalgia.

-His right hand is missing skin because he fidgets only his right. Whether it was picking at the fraying plastic or rubbing the fake skin raw.

-He lost the chunk of neck skin after Myrna accused him of working for the Institute. Tore off a chunk to prove he wasn't a perfect person or an infiltrator synth.

-Ellie was the first person in Diamond City to wholly accept Nick as he is. She asked to work with him as soon as he decided to stay.

-Piper and Nick have jam sessions where they have heavy debates about Diamond City law enforcement and criminal misuse of power in the capitalistic society of pre-war USA.

-Met Dogmeat under an overpass. He handed the dog a snack cake and scratched his head. They've been close pals ever since.

-Will "sleep" around Sole. He'll lay down and manually put himself into "sleep mode". Any unnecessary functions will shut down. He lets his thoughts take over. All Sole hears is the faintest fan whir.

Piper

-Piper plans Sole's 211th birthday. She goes all out, collects balloons, bakes several cakes with Codsworth, makes everyone attend and threatens anyone who would act up. "It's Blue's first birthday out here, you WILL behave!"

-Knows how to make mutfruit preserves, mutfruit pie, mutfruit jam and jelly. Makes it for Nat constantly.

-Has a notebook dedicated to little tidbits of info about Sole.

-Nat is exactly 8 years, 5 months, and 25 days younger than Piper. 

-Piper has interviewed every person in Diamond City. Made a game of it with Nat at first, then she just kept going with it.

-Piper has awful shorthand. Almost as bad as Curie's shorthand. Still illegible. 

-Piper's handwriting is so bad, Nat does the writing for the paper. Piper writes the final draft and Nat copies it, and sends it through the printing press.

-Despite bad handwriting, Piper is very eloquent. Can make a super mutant sound like good date idea or convince anyone how the mayor might actually be a synth.

-Her favourite of Sole's friends is Kent Connolly. Would gladly dress up and act out Silver Shroud episodes with him and Sole.

Preston

-Preston has insomnia. Cannot sleep well. Has had insomnia since Quincy. 

-Can sleep well if he's sleeping beside someone.

-Has a box under his bed of little knick-knacks children have given him over the years. Can't bear to get rid of the kid's gifts.

-He actually likes all of Sole's friends. Even Strong.

-Hates coconut. Once found an Almond-Joy while scaving and couldn't finish it to save his life.

-All time favourite candy is Peanut Brittle. Hard to find but gnawing on the hard chunks is somewhat soothing to him.

-Loves back rubs. Giving and receiving but only from close friends or lovers.

-Once accidently drank a bottle of perfume. MacCready told him it was a bottle of fancy expensive wine. 

-Sturges and Preston are the closest of friends, no less maybe more.

Strong

-Strong knows how to jump rope.

-But double dutch is a mystery.

-Before Sole, he only ate meat raw. Sole taught him how to cook it.

-Also lacks patience to cook, but slowly learning.

-Strong was created in Vault 87 after the bombs dropped but remembers nothing from being human.

-Doesn't understand bubblegum. Will always swallow it after a few seconds of chewing.

-Likes having poetry and plays read to him. 

-Sleeps holding Sole or having Sole laying across his stomach. 

-Loves fire. The smell, the feeling of heat against his hardened skin, the taste of charred meat, and watching the embers fly up and turn to ash.

-Strong can read, but chooses not to because super mutants discourage any educational behavior. 

-Likes the sound of clacking keys on a terminal. He'll turn one on and mess around with the keyboard just to hear the different sounds each key makes.

-He can't decide if hand-to-hand combat is better than using guns.

X6-88

-X6 doesn't like using plasma. He thinks the plasma is less accurate. 

-But laser weapons are his jam.

-Spends excessive amount of time augmenting his weapon. 

-If Sole helped, he would be "happy". Would never say it, but a tiny smirk would pop up on his face for half a second.

-Will collect Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. Hoards them in his bedroom in Sanctuary and in the Institute. 

-Sole found his stash and X6 blushed for the first time when they confronted him. 

-He called Sole "Mom" instead of Ma'am once. She won't let him live it down.

-He called Sole "Dad" after hearing Shaun call him "Dad" all day. He won't let him live it down.

-Actually likes kids. Won't show emotions, get down to their level, or speak to kids. But he doesn't hate children. 

-Especially likes synth Shaun. He taught synth Shaun how to use a laser pistol. Shaun found out and put X6 on probation for a month.

Bonus Vault Tec Rep and Kent Connolly under the cut.

Vault Tec Rep

-Rep spent a couple decades learning how to draw. Loves drawing from life. Mostly draws people. Occasionally draws ferals, mutants, and various animals.

-Was engaged before the war, lasted about 2 years before she died of cancer.

-His favorite food was and still is a well grilled medium rare steak.

-A total neat freak. Every space he uses as a homestead has to be thoroughly cleaned of any bacteria, ticks, dust, dirt, radiation residue, etc

-Teased in school for his red hair. "Rusty" was his least favorite nickname.

-He's extremely susceptible to pet names. Doesn't have to be anything sexual or romantic, just pet names. He blushes like a starstruck starlet.

-Loves love. Romance and old-timey corny love stories. He like to woo his partner. Flowers, chocolate, dancing, movie dates, hand written poems, you name it. 

-He misses his old red hair. Years of being a brunette and he's a little bitter about his hair.

-Least favourite part of The Wasteland is amount of bodies he sees on a daily basis. He saw about zero bodies a day on average before the war. Even in Goodneighbor, the average has risen to about 4 bodies a week. 

-Favourite part of The Wasteland is the ability to just go anywhere. After realizing he didn't have any obligation to stay any specific place, he just traveled around for a few decades.

-His father worked for Vault-Tec, and when he graduated high school, he was given a job immediately. 

-Didn't hate it. Didn't love it at first, but he had a real knack for selling.

-He never had an office in Boston HQ. He got the van, and got a sweet bonus for being top salesman, but never his own office. 

-Despite being top salesman, he was only allowed on the first and second floors. He didn't find out till after the bombs dropped that the basement and third floor up had the plans for the various vaults in the area.

-He can't apologize enough to Sole. After thinking on it and checking out vault 111 by himself, he truly feels sorry for what happened.

-Sole gets him a set of steak knives for Christmas. They're homemade by Sole. They tell him he's earned far more than a knife set, but if that's what he's pining for...

-He treasures it so much, he rarely uses them. Just before he leaves for work in the morning, he checks them over and admires them.

-He and Sole have spent days just telling each other pre war stories. He almost knows more about Sole than Piper does. And he's a little proud of that fact.

-He gets along best with, of all people, Deacon. Good sense of humour and always interested in pre-war info.

-Second best is Piper. A nice lady who snoops too much, but does treat everyone with respect and tries to remain unbiased.

Kent Connolly

-Kent was 23 when the bombs dropped.

-He was sleeping in on the Saturday morning when he heard the air raid sirens.

-Hid in his house's basement till the sirens stopped. 

-And then the radiation sickness took over. 

-It took him about 3 months to turn ghoulish. Quicker than most. 

-He dislikes Goodneighbor - the town as a whole. The people are fine, the resources are serviceable, and the safety assured is nice. But he hates how back alley it feels.

-Misses his family the most. They weren't the best, but they made him feel loved and important.

-Speaking of which, Kent had a huge family. I'm talking brothers, sisters, cousins for days, aunts, uncles...he remembers family reunions as huge gatherings chock full of food and kids running amuck.

-Maybe, just maybe, he enjoys seeing Sole all dressed like Shroud a little too much. He's a big fan.

-Once spent 4 grand on a mint condition Issue no. 3 Silver Shroud comic just to find out it was a forgery. Never got that refund. :(

-Writes really well. But only writes Silver Shroud fanfiction. Piper almost convinced him to help write an article about how crime differed before the war and after the war. But he turned her down.

-Nick has agreed to dress up as Shroud if Sole dresses up like Grognak or Mistress of Mystery. But only if Sole dresses up too.

-Irma refers to him as her son. Amari will not say the same, but she also doesn't protest.

-He used to work in comic book shop. (Of course he did.) 

-He writes self insert Silver Shroud fanfiction all the time. After the events at the hospital with Sinjin, the Shroud in his fanfictions suddenly start using Sole's pronouns and is described as physically similar as Sole.

[clearwillow]

Lookie what got dusted off? No for real I thought I had notes for chapter 5 of Fever Dream and I couldn’t find them anywhere, so I drafted an outline the other night from scratch. Since Making Waves is done and Nailed It is in the queue, I may jump between some wips. I have no idea when this chapter will be ready, but I have some (unedited mind you) of it here. I’m so sorry it’s been actual years, the guilt is eating me up but I am working on it again!

---------

The food somehow stayed in the basket she’d carried out to him. It was a wonder she hadn’t thrown it at him, even if there were three now.

Again. Kind of like how she was taking the little meal back to Kaede’s hut.

Kikyo wondered if this was what that “uphill both ways” statement Kagome made in jesting about her grandfather’s sayings meant. Only, there wasn’t any snow. Not yet anyway, but it wouldn’t be too long –

“Argh!” she let out an uncharacteristic groan and debated throwing the basket of food straight up into the air. Maybe she could get it high enough that it would be taken by the stars, so that she wouldn’t have to return with it and have to explain why the hanyou hadn’t eaten it. Kikyo didn’t want to explain that, because that meant having to come forward and explain everything that had happened on the work site.

And that meant admitting that she’d…that she’d…

“Kagome will kill me once she finds out…”

“Finds out what?” Kaede hadn’t expected to get one on her sister, but she had to take a little delight in seeing Kikyo levitate off the ground without the use of the soul collectors she once had. “Kagome is very forgiving, Kikyo. Whatever it is I doubt that if she were to be upset, it would linger for long.”

Kikyo clutched her chest with her free hand, almost as hard as the basket’s handle. She hadn’t heard her little sister come up behind her, and as she looked around she realized she’d walked further than she’d expected. She really hoped that no one had heard her fit moments before, if she was this close to the village.

“Inuyasha has split again.”

“Oh dear,” Kaede sighed. “I can’t imagine why, since they are bonded now.”

“Inuyasha told me.” She felt out of place talking about this, because it should be the hanyou to explain, but since he’d taken his human side and ran for the well… “He’s scared, about risking Kagome’s honor in her time. With her obligations to her family that she needs to complete, he’s worried that he might…” Dammit why was she blushing! She didn’t blush! “He doesn’t want to take the chance of her carrying his child before she’s ready,” she finished in a rush.

Glancing at her sister was a bad idea, because now she was giving her a critical look with her one good eye. “Why are you flushed, Kikyo?”

“It’s nothing!”

“Mm. If it were nothing, you would still be fair as fresh linens, but your cheeks are pink.” Then she looked down at the basket and Kikyo really did want to throw it into the sun. “And did Inuyasha eat his lunch?”

“He did not.”

“Well, I suppose Shippo will volunteer to eat it before it spoils,” Kaede shrugged. “Don’t think you’re getting away from my question, sister.”

Oh good, the authoritative tone she used to use to pull rank on Kaede was now being thrown back at her. That’s just what she needed right now. Technically she was still the older sister. The fifty years of being dead ought to count for something, even if she was born again with that sliver of Kagome’s soul. “F-fine. When I came to bring Inuyasha the food, I found him on the ground. He wasn’t responding…and neither were the other two…”

Kaede’s lips quirked up slightly.

“I thought something was wrong! I thought a youkai had attacked – not find a naked one splayed out across the grass –”

Kaede lost it. She stopped walking as she doubled over laughing at the image her sister described.

“Why are you laughing?! This isn’t funny, Kaede!”

“It is!”

“No it isn’t! I saw him naked! I saw that!”

Why her sister thought this was the funniest thing in the world, she’d never understand. It didn’t help her situation any when Kaede calmed enough to respond. “Come now, Kikyo. You’ve seen naked men before when you’ve treated them for injuries. You know good and well that that’s not the end that bites –”

“Of course I know that!” Now she was bright red, and the gods were laughing at her expense along with her sister. “But it was large enough that it could have!”

Kikyo didn’t recall Kaede ever having such a dirty laugh as a child, and wondered if this was some development that had happened with age. As mortifying as it would be to speak to Kagome and confess that she’d looked – multiple times, to make sure she wasn’t seeing things – she could only hope that Kaede was right about the woman’s ability to forgive.

[steves-on-a-plane]

Zero Gravity

Words: 1544 Pairing: Finn x Poe Dameron               Summary: Finn and Poe are in love with each other. Leia Knows it. Rey Knows it. Anyone who’s been in the same room as them know it. So why, has it taken so long for the two of them to admit it to each other? 

Finn stood in front of the mirror of his quarters. If he didn’t leave soon, he was going to be later for afternoon mess. Poe always worried about him when he arrived late to mess. Even if they’d just seen each other minutes before. It was as if his friend worried the ground had sucked him up and swallowed him in the ninety seconds, they’d been apart.

Friend. Finn didn’t really know why, but idea of being friends with Poe Dameron always made his stomach feel like it was doing backflips. He always assumed it was because Poe was the first real friend he’d had. Poe had given him his name. Before Poe he’d just been FN-2187. He owed a lot to Poe, including the jacket he was wearing.

The brown leather jacket, which Finn now studied himself wearing in the mirror, had been a gift when he’d first met the Resistance Pilot. It was the first piece of clothing Finn had ever owned that belonged to him. Not standard issue trooper armor or underclothes which were laundered and shared amongst the other storm troopers. Even now that he had a respectably sized wardrobe, the tattered old jacket remained his favorite garment.

“Poe gave you that jacket, didn’t he?” A voice appeared so suddenly it had Finn jumping out of his skin. He didn’t realize the door to his quarters were even open. He turned to see Rose Tico leaning casually in his doorway. He didn’t answer her question because he hadn’t exactly heard what she asked.

“He sent me to see what’s keeping you from mess.” She explained. “You know, in some systems, giving someone your jacket is a sign of romantic interest.”

“I-Wha..” Finn sputtered unable to formulate a response.

“Relax.” Rose laughed. “I was just teasing you. Are you ready to go or do you need to preen for a few minutes?”

“I’m not! Let’s go.” Finn sighed before rushing out the door.

Poe had saved them both seats at the mess hall because of course he did. He smiled when he saw Rose, but his entire face lit up the second he laid eyes on Finn. Being around Finn gave him the same feeling as zero gravity on the cockpit of his X-Wing; weightless, free. Finn never told Poe that he was talking too fast. The former Stormtrooper never chastised him for acting rashly. Instead, he’d nod along and simply ask, “How can I help?”

“Sorry.” Finn apologized, even though they weren’t even technically late yet. “I got caught up in something. Lsot track of time.” He lied.

“Yeah, looking at himself in the mirror.” Rose mumbled. Poe hadn’t heard what she said and was about to ask her to repeat herself when Captain Elav, a Twi’lek Security Officer approached their table.

“Commander Dameron, I’m sorry to interrupt your meal, but The General said you’re scheduled for overnight watch on the eastern gate this evening.” Elav asked.

“I believe I am. Did something happen for The General to reassign me?” Poe asked. Typically, his assignments came directly from Leia herself.

“No, Sir.” The Captain replied. “Luroon was meant to join you, but they were injured during weapons training this afternoon. I’m afraid we’re having trouble finding a replacement for them.”

“Weapons training? Are they alright?” Poe wanted to know.

“Nothing a day or so in the bacta won’t fix.” Elav promised.

“Well thanks for letting me know. I’ll be sure to check in on Luroon tomorrow and I’ll find someone for watch tonight.” Poe said. Captain Elav nodded before leaving the trio to their meal.

“I’ll do it.” Finn volunteered before the Twi’lek was hardly a footstep away.

“Didn’t you just come back from that weeklong mission with Rey? You couldn’t have gotten much sleep on the Falcon’s hard bunks.” Poe asked.

“I’ve slept in worse places.” Finn shrugged. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out.”

Poe wanted to say no.  Despite what Finn said, he had a hard time sleeping on ships. He’s told Poe before it was a problem he’d had since childhood. There was nothing compared to a soft cozy bed. Poe had been inclined to agree with him at the time. He knew his friend likely needed rest, but truth be told watch duty sucked. It sucked even more when you were stuck for eight to twelve hours with someone you didn’t know well or like.

“Okay.” Poe agreed with no further push from Finn. “Meet you at the east gate at moons up?”

“I’ll be there.” Finn agreed.

After mid-day mess Finn, Poe and Rose returned to their posts. Poe anxiously kept an eye on the time stamp near the bottom of his monitor in the command room. He’d never been excited for watch before in his entire life. Finn tried to keep himself busy helping Rey and Chewbacca with the Millennium Falcon. It seemed the ancient ship was never short on repairs that needed to be done. The Wookie and the Jedi were happy for the help, there was a very short list of beings they trusted with their ship. Finn just barely managed to make the cut.

At long last the planet’s three moons were just barely visible in the sky. Finn nearly tossed down his spanner in excitement. He did his best to maintain his composure as he informed Rey that he’d have to leave for his watch shift. She thanked him for his help and waved him off, turning her attention to the perpetually on the fritz hyperdrive.

Poe was nearly late for his shift. He’d been with Leia and some of the other high-ranking officers. They’d been in a debrief so long that the words of the presenting Mon Calamari had stopped making sense to him. He’d been just about to nod off when the alarm he’d set at his workstation sounded off. The Commander apologized to everyone and excused himself to night watch, promising to read the complimenting documents before returning to the war room the following day.

“I thought I might have to actually send a search party out for you for once.” Finn joked as Poe finally arrived, out of breath.

“I might ask Leia to knock me back down to Captain if it means I don’t have to sit through any more of those debriefs.” Poe huffed.

“I don’t know,” Finn shrugged. “Commander Dameron kind of flows better than Captain Dameron.”

“You think so?” Poe asked, leaning against the base’s exterior wall. “Alright I’ll keep it then.”

Finn studied his friend’s features. The planet’s three moons lit the sky so brightly it could compare to another planet’s daylight. Poe’s bronzed skin was practically glowing in the moonlight. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up, and his collar buttons open. Coolant in the command room must have been broken again.

“You’re from Yavin, right?” Finn asked suddenly.

“Fourth Moon of Yavin, born and raised.” Poe nodded. “You ever been?”

“Have I…no.” Finn shook his head. “I’ve heard it’s got massive jungles.”

“Yeah, sounds about right.” Poe agreed. “It’s muggy, large trees, but not as big as the ones on Keshyyyk. Why, you planning a trip?”

“No, I was just thinking about something someone said earlier.” Finn replied.

“Something someone said about home planets?” Poe pushed off the wall he’d leaning on. His lighthearted smirk changed to serious quickly. He tried to voice his concern in a delicate way. He didn’t want to offend Finn. “Is someone harassing you about not knowing your home planet? Because If they are…”

“No! No!” Finn interrupted him. “Nothing like that.” He was embarrassed to admit that he was still thinking about what Rose said earlier about gifting jackets. Finn took in a gulp of air before recounting to Poe that on some planets giving your jacket to someone is seen as a romantic advance. “So you know, I was just wondering if that was true on Yavin.”

“Oh.” Poe digested what Finn had said. He then remembered that the jacket that fit so perfectly on his best friend had once belonged to him. “Ohhhh.” Poe chose his next words carefully. “We didn’t have anything specific that I remember on Yavin 4, but you know if you’re trying to ask me out, Buddy, you could just do that. Jacket or not.”

Poe bit his lip. He’d hoped the suggestion came off as playful. If Finn wasn’t interested in him, he could easily flip it as a joke. But, well, if Finn was even remotely interested maybe that sort of line would be just the thing to tip the scales.

Finn was speechless. He’d waited so long for Poe to make the first move. Poe always made the first move. Poe made all the plans and did a lot of the talking. Maybe just this once he could be the one to act without thinking.

Finn stepped forward so suddenly, that Poe stepped back. Finn used this to his advantage. He moved even closer pinning Poe against the wall. Their hips crashed together. He thought he may have heard a moan escape Poe’s lips.

“I’m sorry, should I…” Finn pulled away, but a pair of hands were gripping his waist, pulling him close again.

“Kiss me.” Poe whispered.

[angryschnauzer]

Just What I Need

Summary; Working in a coffee shop you meet all sorts of people, but one customer in particular is always friendly, a local Detective from the nearby precinct. When one night he orders through a delivery service rather than in store, you get more than a tip when you make the delivery.

Fandom; Nomis (Night Hunter) Movie, Henry Cavill

Pairing: Detective Walter Marshall x Female Reader (no race or size specified)

Trope: Coffee Shop Meet Cute

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Flirting, Masturbation (male), Oral Sex (female recieving), unprotected sex, Vaginal Sex, Snowstorms.

I do not operate a tag list but instead please pop over and follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications, then you’ll get an alert every time i post a new story. My Masterlist got too long and tumblr ate it, so all my past stories can also be found on my AO3, link HERE

A/N: I am considering expanding this story, depending if people like it and want me to? Let me know! <3

Just What I Need

 Running the steam through the coffee machine you wiped the nozzle and smiled, there were just fifteen minutes until closing and the coffee shop you worked at was all but abandoned. Just your manager in the back counting the cash takings, and you were getting ready to box up the remaining muffins and cookies for the homeless shelter volunteer to collect dead on closing time.

 You didn’t mind working the late shift, in fact you preferred it over the early shift opening up at 7am. The 7am crowd were grumpy, rude and always in a rush. The 7pm customers were tired, quiet, and always thankful for whatever caffeinated delights you provided them with.

 The bell over the door rang as it opened and you looked up over the cups that were stacked on top of the machine, smiling at you saw the weary familiar face coming towards you;

 “Good Evening Detective” you smiled as the beast of a man stood at the counter. His face softened as he saw you, his shoulders dropping a little as he relaxed.

 “Hey… Sorry I’m in so late… you’re still open, right?”

 You glanced at the clock;

 “Another ten minutes. What can i get you?”

 You watched as he cast his gaze up to the handwritten chalkboard menu’s above the counter;

 “You got any Chilli left?”

 “Sure, a couple of pots in the fridge. Want me to warm it up?”

 He paused for a moment, as if trying to process the most technical question through his tired mind;

 “No… yes… urghhh…” he took a deep breath; “Yeah… if you wouldn’t mind. I’m so fuckin’ tired i think I’d burn my apartment down if i tried to use the stove”

 “Sure thing” you said with a smile as you got to work.

 You made small talk as you prepared his order, pulling out the sides and condiments that came with the Chilli meal;

 “Hey, you want a free muffin?”

 “I’m not really into sweet things this late at night… what flavours you got?”

“How about an Apple Cinnamon? It’ll last overnight and still be fresh enough for breakfast”

 The Detective smiled and nodded, pulling his wallet out as you finished bagging his order and rang it through for him, paying before you handed the bag to him;

 “Have a good evening Detective”

 As he turned he smiled at you;

 “Call me Walter”

 -

 Three days later and you were on the late shift again. Again it was quiet, just the soft sound of tyres driving through slushy snow outside the only noise since around 6pm as just a couple of customers nursed steaming mugs of coffee from their window seats. You saw the big silver truck pull up in the space outside the coffeeshop and smiled, there was only one customer that drove a truck that huge and if you were being honest with yourself you were developing quite a crush on the curly haired Detective.

 The moment he walked through the door you were smiling at him;

 “Detective” you greeted him happily

 “Didn’t i say to call me Walter last time i was here?”

 “I like Detective, has a nice authority ring to it” you said with a wink; “What can i get you tonight?”

 He paused for a moment, and as you reached for a notepad to jot down his order you missed the slight eyebrow raise and smirk at what you’d said before he cleared his throat;

 “What have you got that i can eat in my office without facing the wrath of my Lieutenant for making the department stink?” he said with a grin as he leaned on the counter.

 “I got Mozzarella and Pesto Subs? Tuna Melt?”

 “Tuna is a no. The case isn’t going well, no fish. Gimme two Mozzarella Subs, and the largest black coffee you do”

 “Sure thing. I’ll put a fresh pot on and get those sub’s on the press”

 As you started to prepare his order his phone rang, and you couldn’t help but to listen in;

 “... i’ll be like five minutes, i ain’t eaten all day… yeah ok… i’ll grab a box…”

 He hung up and nodded to the cakes;

 “Can i get a dozen muffins to go too? Got some grunts that are jealous that i got to escape the paperwork…”

 “Sure thing”

 Loading a box you picked what you knew were the best flavours and the freshest bakes;

 “You know, we’re on Uber Eats. As much as its nice to see a friendly face, we can deliver to the Precinct”

 “I… I have no idea what that is…”

 “Its a food delivery app. Here, give me your phone…”

 He unlocked it and set it down and rested his elbows on the counter as he watched;

 “You go to the app store and just download it. Put in your location and it’ll bring up nearby eateries and you can search for us. It has all the standard menu on. Save your card details or link it to paypal, and its super easy, it even keeps you updated when the order is being prepared or its out for delivery”

 He smiled as you pushed the phone back to him, locking the screen and pushing it back into his tight jeans;

 “That’s all well and good, but then i wouldn’t get a chance to see my favourite coffee shop girl now, would i?”

 You leaned forward and grinned, keeping your voice low;

 “Order between 6.45 and 7pm and i snag the deliveries and do them on my way home”

 -

 Walter pushed the key into the lock, opening the door to his apartment and groaning as his body ached from tiredness. He should be elated, they caught the killer, the evidence was logged and couldn’t be disputed… and yet he was tired to his core. He’d been at his desk for longer than he’d been home, and when the Lieutenant had finally ordered him to go him a little after 5pm, it had still taken him the better part of an hour to finish up and leave the building. 

 Shutting the door behind him he felt his stomach rumble. He didn’t even need to look in the fridge to know it was completely empty, devoid of anything even vaguely edible. Checking his phone he saw that it was a little after 6.30pm and a thought fired across his mind, a smile forming. Fifteen minutes later he’d added far more to his online basket than he ever would have done in store, but for the first time he was able to see exactly what the creations were whereas in the store it was just a big pile of weird looking cakes and bakes. By 6.50pm he’d entered his card details and completed the order, the little update screen stating delivery would be by 7.30pm, just enough time to grab a shower, after all if it was you that would deliver, he should probably shower for the first time in 72 hours having rushed out of the apartment three mornings in a row due to new leads in the case.

 The shower was far too enjoyable to rush, and after he’d washed his hair he started on his body, soaping over his chest and stomach before he paid extra attention to his dick. The anticipation of just the possibility of seeing you had him hard in seconds, and resting his head back against the tiled wall he quickly worked his hand over himself. He got lost in the moment, his mind taking him to places it shouldn’t, imagining his hand was yours, thinking about that time he saw you wearing over the over the knee knit socks and a skirt, how your ass was the perfect roundness, how your lips would look stretched around his dick… he came with a groan, thick white ropes falling to the shower floor as every ounce of stress left his body, his body shuddering when he was finally spent.

 He was halfway through drying himself when he heard a knock at the door to his apartment, he eyes going wide when he saw it was 7.20pm;

 “Fuck!”

 He’d gotten carried away in the shower, and now he had to quickly rush to wrap a towel around his waist as a second knock came just as he reached the door, taking a deep breath before opening it and seeing you standing on the doorstep shivering in your padded coat, holding two takeout bags;

 “Hey! Come in, come in, Jeez its freezing out there…”

 Stepping into the apartment you couldn’t help but to look him up and down, attempting to hide your reaction as you could clearly see the distinct outline of something rather large bulging against the fabric of the fluffy white towel;

 “Hey D-d-detective… Y-y-yeah it’s d-d-dropping fast out t-t-there… radio s-s-said it was g-g-gonna be a wind chill of minus t-t-twenty nine by eight o’clock… what a n-n-night to have my b-b-bike, huh?” You carefully dropped the two bags onto his coffee table as you spoke.

 “You cycled here? On that pedal bike that is always chained up outside the coffee shop?” he asked incredulously, immediately forgetting his current state of undress. Shutting the door he immediately wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to his chest; “You’re gonna stay here until you’re warmed up, i’m gonna make you a hot coffee and to warm you up from the inside too...”

 “I ain’t gonna complain to that” you mumbled, your face pressed to his chest as you suddenly melted against him, warming your cheek against his firm muscles before turning your head to warm the other one and he let out a little gasp as your cold hands pressed against his sides.

 “I also said for you to call me Walter…” he said quietly.

 Pulling your head back you smiled at him;

 “Thank you, Walter. You’re the best… though you’re the first delivery i’ve made where i’ve been greeted by someone in just a towel”

 “Sorry, let me go put some clothes on…”

 You tighten your grip around his waist;

 “I wasn’t complaining…”

 There was no poignant pause, no longing gazes, his lips met with yours and the kiss was fierce and hungry. He was pushing your coat down your arms and you reluctantly released your hold from his waist to let it drop to the floor, your sweater following soon after. Your lips met again and he was lifting you, wrapping your legs around his waist as his hand rested on your ass beneath your skirt as he walked you through the apartment before dropping you on his bed.

 He was pulling your boots off your feet as you scrambled up the bed, your hands reaching for your thigh high socks when he suddenly caught your hands in his;

 “Leave those on…”

 You paused and grinned, before his lips met yours again and he was on top of you, his hands sliding up your skirt and bunching it around your waist as he pressed a trail of open mouthed kisses down the valley of your breasts and over your stomach, before briefly lifting his head enough to pull your panties down your legs and toss them aside.

 As he lowered his mouth to your core his gaze was intense, vivid blue shining through the dim light of his bedroom, his tongue pushing through your soaked petals and parting them as his beard brushed against your skin, heightening all of the sensations. Wrapping his arms around your thighs he pulled you closer to his mouth, his tongue pushing into you and he started to fuck you with it whilst his bearded face tickled your clit. You were squealing and struggling to stay still, needing to anchor yourself on something as your hips bucked and your orgasm started to rapidly approach, your hands finding their way to his still wet hair and your fingers wrapping around the dark curls as he pressed a hand to your stomach to keep you still, growling at your taste on his tongue as he felt you shake as your orgasm took over.

 When your body had finally stopped shaking Walter pressed a chaste kiss to the inside of each of your thighs before he sat back on his haunches, licking his lips where he could still taste you on them. Pushing yourself up onto your elbows you grinned at him, your gaze travelling down his thick chest to his stomach, and the trail of hair that led beneath the towel;

 “You gonna show me what you’ve got under that towel, Detective?”

 “You ready for what i’ve got under this towel darlin’?”

 Pushing yourself up to sitting, your legs spread and bent either side of him, you hooked a finger into the towel and tugged, your eyes going wide when you saw his thick meaty cock standing hard and proud between his muscled thighs. Wrapping your hands around it you relished the feel of his silky skin as it moved over the hardness beneath, your mouth against his;

 “I need you inside me”

 “I… Fuck… this wasn’t planned… i haven’t got any protection…”

 “I’m on birth control, I want to feel you bare…”

 With a growl he surged forwards, capturing your lips with his own before he pushed you down onto the bed. Holding himself up on one hand he hooked your leg up over his hip, opening you like a winter blossom as he rubbed his dick through your soaked folds, dousing himself with your slick wetness. You whined at the teasing, the way his tip would brush against your hole only to move up to your clit;

 “Walter, please… you promised to warm me up from the inside…”

 He paused, a smirk on his face;

 “You want me to get you a coffee? ‘Cos i can stop…”

 “NO, i need your diiiiiiiiii….FUCK!” He’d pushed into you as you were mid sentence, the feeling of his meaty girth splitting your walls wide open overwhelming you and your eyes rolled back in their sockets; “OH MY GOD!”

 “You like that Darlin? You feeling warmer now?”

 “Please… please fuck me…”

 He grinned and shifted his hips, grinding into you;

 “Well, as you said please…”

 You had been expecting him to pound you into the mattress, you had not been expecting for his technique to start off with sensual rolls of his hips, filling you tenderly and carefully whilst you got used to his size. It was almost overwhelming, completely surrounded as he caged you in with his massive arms, his chest pressed against your own as his hips worked utter magic. He pulled his legs wide apart, shifting to rest on your open hips and he got even deeper. Pressing kisses to your lips and neck he soon had you moaning and begging for release, every push and pull hitting just the right spots and you were almost embarrassingly wet from the arousal but it only added to the sensations.

 You could feel yourself coming, the pleasure too much to hold back, and with a long low moan your body betrayed you and succumbed to the orgasm that had been building in the pit of your belly. Walter kept up the same speed of his thrusts but pushed a little harder, a little deeper with each one;

 “Can feel you fluttering around me, you gonna cum for me? You look so fucking beautiful all fucked out and wanting, feel so fucking amazing…”

 Just as your orgasm was at its peak he tensed and you could feel his cum flooding into you, the twitching of his dick as he filled you with his seed prolonging your high. When you had both finally finished you could feel his weight start to get heavier on top of you, before with a sudden and surprising act of nimble dexterity he rolled the pair of you over so you were laying atop of him, his softening dick slipping out and you felt the trickle of his seed flow out of you. With one massive hand he pulled the duvet across your bodies, and you snuggled up to his chest;

 “That was the best tip ever” you giggled; “In fact definitely more than the tip”

 At that moment you not only heard but felt his stomach growl, looking up and seeing him grin sheepishly as he spoke;

 “I just want you to know this is not how i usually treat food deliveries… do you want something to eat? Or drink?”

 Nodding you smiled;

 “That'd be nice”

 -

 A while later you were cleaned up, Walter having given you one of his massive t-shirts to wear which came to the tops of your thighs. He’d grazed through half the contents of his order as you nibbled on a muffin, having eaten at the coffee shop during a very quiet last hour of your shift. You’d laughed and chatted as the pair of you had eaten on the comfort of Walters couch, before you’d suddenly stopped mid sentence;

 “Shit, i left my bike in the lobby… will it be safe there until i go home?”

 Walter smiled at you, his hand curling around your thigh;

 “Have you heard that weather out there? I’d be surprised if you could even ride it home through three foot of snow…” he paused for a moment; “Stay the night…”

 You went to object, decline politely but you caught yourself, why? Why shouldn’t you spend the night? Taking a deep breath you smiled;

 “I’d love to”

_____________________________________________

Part 2 >>>

[hollyhomburg]

Reasons Wretched and Divine (Part 3)

↪ Genre: hybrid au, polyamory au, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery, pregnancy 

↪ Pairing: dog hybrid! Namjoon x Reader x Golden Retriever! Jimin 

↪ Summary: You live on an isolated but sprawling farm with your abusive husband. But things start to change for the better when you adopt a retired police dog hybrid named Namjoon. 

↪ Tags: Mentions of psychological abuse, physical abuse, concussions, hurt/comfort, hybrid mistreatment, Jimin is a little hopeless, first time saying i love you, heavy kissing/touching over clothes, pregnancy, overprotective namjoon, romanticized farm life.

↪ Song rec: Zero o'clock ~ BTS

↪ W/c: 5.9k

🐾    PART 1   🐾   PART 2  🐾

- Taehyung’s smile, waiting to welcome any hybrid to the farm and offer them a bunk and a cup of tea or coffee, does wonders for your retention rate at the farm.

- Pretty soon more hybrids are staying more nights or asking you how long they can stay. And you always reply “as long as you need too” (though there are a few who just only stay a few days to rest and recuperate and then move on, the deer hybrids are particularly nomadic) but the bunk beds in the first finished barn fill up over the course of the first month. 

- It's you who has the idea to put up ads in newspapers and at bus stops for humans who want to help hybrids but can’t take any in. You get quite a few calls from people who have seen their neighbors beating their hybrids, or who have found injured hybrids along the road. 

- You even get a call from a hospital at one point. Pet stores call too- having picked up hybrids from the streets, or have hybrids that have grown too old- haven’t been adopted after a few months or like they call it ‘excess stock’. Even though it seems horrible to think of them that way, to most of the world hybrids are little more than possessions.  

- You and Namjoon always drive and pick whoever it is up rain or shine. You get calls in the middle of the night and have to leave immediately despite the fact that you’re getting more obviously pregnant day by day, and your baby bump fully visible to outsiders, unconcealable under all but the baggiest of shirts. 

- Namjoon’s slowly growing collection of red flannel shirts (really he only likes the red ones) is your favorite thing to raid on the days that you’re feeling particularly self-conscious about your body. And it always makes your puppy a certain kind of needy, wanting to have you close always (which is a plus, not that you’d ever tell Namjoon what his whines do to you) 

- When it comes to giving up unwanted hybrids, Very few people argue with the crazy pregnant lady and her intimidating hybrid with the scarred face. And if they do argue, a stack of money is usually enough to convince even the most reluctant of people to part with their hybrids. 

- The most you’ve ever had to pay an owner to give up their already unwanted hybrid is around 1,000 dollars, and too you- they’re worth much more than that. to see the way they change when they suddenly find themselves safe for the first time in their lives- it’s priceless to you and namjoon. 

- It breaks your heart when you take them home, and the first few days, where they watch everything like it might disappear, when they walk on eggshells of their old lives, so worried that they’re going to be thrown out. When they hoard food worried it’s going to be taken away, flinch at every raised hand. it breaks your heart, but it also makes you feel accomplished when they slowly start to heal, start to laugh louder than they ever have, start to joke and play over meal times, seak you out for a reassuring heat pet. 

- And although you hold more than a dozen certificates of ownership at a time, you’re clear to any hybrid that walks onto your property that they’re their own person, that they owe you nothing and that their freedom and autonomy will be given the second they ask for it. 

- No matter who they are or where they came from, their age, what kind of ears they have on the top of their heads, they are given a bunk, a fresh change of clothes (or two) and at least 2 meals a day. though- mealtimes are easily the hardest part of your operation and the thing that gives you the biggest headache. Making sure you’ve made enough food for everyone after the bunk beds fill up very very quickly when word starts to get around in the stray community. 

- luckily- you had the forethought to expand your kitchen, and now you have 3 ovens, a larger than average dishwasher, 2 sinks, and industrial-sized refrigerators in the cellar. Meals become the most important and most involved part of your day. You’re thankful that a few of the hybrid who has come to stay with you- particularly the cat hybrids, seems to have a knack for cooking who often let themselves into the first level of your house before the sun rises- their nocturnal inclinations useful for once.

- it’s quite the shock, the first day you walk downstairs at 6am, intent on starting breakfast, only to find 3 cat hybrids- one arrived yesterday- a middle-aged forest cat with little tufts on the end of her ears named Heesun, who is already pressing a warm cup of tea into your hands and telling you to sit down. The rest of the cats buzzing around your kitchen, the smell of frying vegetables and eggs already tickling at your nose. “are you sure you’ve got everything?” 

- “of course! when the others told me that you usually cook the food in the mornings- i didn’t think that was right you see- you’re doing so much for us here- let us do this” you watch as she divides labor, the other two cat hybrids following her lead, you ask, and the hybrid tells you she used to be a cook for the family she used to live with. you don’t ask what emancipated her out of their care, Heesun had shown up on the edge of the farm yesterday with a noticeable limp. 

- It’s not surprising to you that after a few days Heesun asks you if she can become a permanent resident of the farm. Any hybrid is free to leave when they want but most choose to stay and contribute. It’s a little surprising, the first day you walk out your front door to find one of the hybrids sweeping up some leaves, or when one of them comes to get Namjoon’s help repairing the side of one of the barns.

- At first- both of you are adamant apposed to them helping, but Taehyung helps mediate between the main house and the hybrids in the barns. And the 10 or so that have stuck around who express to you that it would make them feel more comfortable staying here if they could help out. 

- And it’s not like you don’t need the help- because really, as the population of the farm exceeds 20, you really really do. 

- They mostly run the chore system themselves, Namjoon and Taehyung keep a running list of chores that need to be done and guide a few groups in the morning that want to work. All hybrids who stay contribute in some way, Weather that is with the bunny hybrids that run around doing laundry and sweeping, and cleaning to their heart's content or the bear hybrids led by Taehyung. Everyone has their jobs. 

- You have three bear hybrids in total, Tae, a small honey-colored bear named Beomgyu, and a panda hybrid named Jackson that help you collect the honey from beehives and sell it at the farmers market. Though Taehyung manages to eat more honey than they sell somehow and is constantly scolded by both Jackson and Namjoon (Even if the beehives where his idea). Most of the time when you see him- Tae has sticky cheeks.

- But Namjoon will basically let Taehyung get away with anything, seeing as the hybrid contributes the most to making the farm run smoothly. Taehyung is always egger to help you with anything that needs to be done unable to keep still. Whether that be runs to the store with you to buy mountains of food needed to feed everyone, Coupon clipping, or the general wrangling and organization. The more technical things, like fixing up some of the other buildings, like the chicken coop and actual animal barns that have fallen into disrepair, are left mostly to namjoon. 

- You’re given nearly 30 chickens and half a dozen sheep by a local after the owners of them get too old to properly take care of them. As much as they’re a headache access to more than three dozen eggs a day helps to cut down the cost of breakfast significantly. And you’re happy with the chickens because at the very least they aerate the soil and keep it free of bugs too, even if it means you need to fence in the vegetable garden that you’re cultivating to keep them away from the tomatoes. 

- Scrambled eggs with bacon, breakfast burritos, frittatas, and fried eggs are some of your breakfast staples. And you get more than a little help from some of the hybrids who have experience in cooking during meal times to feed the nearly 50 occupants of the farm by the end of the second month. 

- You’ve accumulated a few dog hybrids as well, Wide-eyed collie Dahyun, chow-chow Yugyeom, and muscly great-dane hybrid Shownu who help Namjoon whenever something needs to be moved, as well as an assortment of rare breeds like the lone alpaca hybrid Seokjin who takes care of the sheep when you have to shear them and spin the wool into fine quality yarn. 

- Seokjin is a quiet hybrid, uncannily taciturn despite his kind face. he can often be found in the workshop at the south end of the property, his hair blonde and poofy hiding his soft pink ears. Piling the mountains of wool into vats of dyes and setting others out to dry, whistling along to the radio as he weaves it. the hybrid is quiet- and prefers his space from the bustle of the center of the property. Namjoon likes to help him when he can, and you’ve seen the way that the usually taciturn hybrid turns smiley when namjoon is around. 

- There is always someone volunteering to do the countless other little jobs and things that the hybrids do or make to help give back to you. Most of them want to do as much as they can, even though there are still days where there simply isn’t a lot of work to do outside of mealtimes. 

- At night, when you retreat to your house after dinner with Namjoon, happy for a little bit of calmness in your kitchen so late. You’ll hold his hand, let him spin you to the tune of whatever plays out of the radio, and thank him for finding you again after you disappeared into yourself for a little while after your husband's death. You don’t feel quite so sad anymore, with the hybrids here- you have a purpose again. 

- The large fortune you have from your late husband is barely dented by the start-up costs and day-to-day costs of running the farm. And since you got licensed by the state as a hybrid rehabilitation center you have no shortage of funding or generous donations by the countries rich looking to deduct from their taxes too. The same rich people that stop by in their fancy cars and barely used trucks to see the farm, often asking to adopt, as enamored with the hybrids as you are. 

- There is a long judgment period before you sign over anyone, and more than once you have declined an offer after the hybrid in question tells you they’re unsure. Sometimes there are red flags, the way the children act almost fearful, and a lack of care shown during mealtimes or something else that leads you to believe that they will be neglected. The ones you do part with give you a hug, often almost not wanting to let go, some of them choking out ‘thank you’s’ and ‘please never close’ that make every bit of effort worth it.

- You keep a logbook, of every hybrid that comes to stay and when they leave, even some come back more than once, every now and then. At the top of the page is namjoon’s signature, and next is taehyungs, and then on and on. you fill up the first page, and then the second, and then the third with names. 

- All the hybrids know that they won't leave with anyone unless they want to. You hold adoption weekends every month or so to help mitigate some of the influx, but you never turn anyone away who comes to stay. There are some hybrids that come stay at the farm and still want a home of their own, which is the primary reason why you start to have open houses and adoption weekends. 

- You devise a system, red tags on clothing to indicate a hybrid that doesn’t want to be adopted, yellow for the ones that might be but need space, and green name tags for those who want to be adopted. 

- The first time you have one of these weekends, 3 months after the death of your husband, you leave Namjoon’s choice of which sticker he wants up to him. He rolls his eyes at you before slapping 5 red stickers on his lapel just for good measure, really? Why would you expect any differently?  

- “Whose going to love a washed-up old soul like me anyway?” Namjoon says over dishes, helping you finish up the few that are leftover from breakfast. The hybrids that normally help are out meeting with the ten or so people that have come to adopt today. The words sound so sour, much more than he wanted them too.  

- You snort, rubbing at a dish harder, splashing the grease onto the front of your apron, angry, maybe it’s just the hormones. “I don’t know, me maybe.” Namjoon looks up abruptly; nearly dropping the dish he’s drying. You take it from his hands and put it on the counter, and you might be smaller than him by nearly a foot but he still feels shy. his cheeks pinking as he looks down at you. 

- “No ones- no ones ever loved me.” Namjoon says in a rush, not sure why he’s saying it, because you know- if anyone in the world knows Namjoon it’s you. your batterd soul matches his. 

- You tilt his chin down to yours, “no one has ever said it to me and meant it either. But I love you Joonie- you have to know that by now- of course I want you to stay for good.” 

- And then suddenly Namjoon is kissing you feverishly, sloppily despite the fact that his body is brimming with careful intent. And it may not be the first kiss you’ve shared- there have been more than a few in the shadowed shared moments In the morning. Mostly chaste pecks of the lips or kisses to your forehead or the ones to your tummy that namjoon knows make you feel a little sad. But for all intents and purposes, this is the only kiss that matters. The kisses that come after the first “I love you” are always sweeter than candy.  

- You thread your fingers through his hair and pull, making tingles erupt like starlight down his spine. Namjoon almost growls into your mouth as he reaches down to grip underneath your thighs where your ass meets your hips. Picking you up as gently as he can manage and placing you on the butcher-block countertop next to the sink. 

-  Your nails rubbing along the curve where his ears connect to his scull and he pulls you closer, always closer, dissatisfied with your nearness even though you’re pressed against him completely and he can feel the gentle swell of you through his clothes. your legs parted so he can step between them. Namjoon wants to not be able to tell where your skin begins and his ends. Your hands run up and down his chest, pushing his flannel off of his shoulders, so you can feel his biceps, the strength there in them taught. 

- Your dress hiking up to the point where it’s verging on lewd as his hands grab fistfulls of your plush thighs. He grips the weight you’ve gained there through your pregnancy and almost groans as he smooth’s his hands up over your curves unable to get enough of the way his fingers press into your supple skin. “Fuck, do you know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that? To touch you? i love you too- so much it hurts sometimes.”

- You’re looking up at him, already looking needy and wrecked the spaghetti strap of your dress sliding off your shoulder, as you nod and Namjoon wants more than anything to keep kissing you, to never stop, he never will if you let him.  

- He feels like he almost wants to devour you nipping lightly at the skin exposed by that fallen strap. As your fingers hover around the nape of his neck, answering his question with a broken whimper as he nips along your clavicle to your neck. Drunk on the smell of you, feeling like his soul is bare but safe in your hands. “I love you- god I love you so much, please can - can i- touch you?” 

- You feel almost incredulous, you head spinning with the knowledge that Namjoon loves you, he loves you, and you love him. You nod your ascent, and After everything, you’d never honestly believed that you’d ever be kissed again, much less that you’d ever be kissed like this. You tug up the hem of his shirt to dig your fingers into hips, dragging them carefully down his stomach without using your nails, the gentleness of the touch making him groan.

-  You can feel his heartbeat in your fingertips, the rapid rhythms of each heart beating in time as Namjoon kisses down your chest, mouthing roughly at your nipple through the fabric, careful not to nip, you’re already keening, your breasts so sensitive to his gentle but hungry ministrations. 

- Before it can go any further a cat hybrid, a small tortashell cat named Irene whose missing the tip of one of her ears from her last owner opens the front door looking for you- announcing a few people come for the open house, shocked to find the scene before her. And before she can manage more than a squeak Namjoon is snarling at her to leave without words. 

- He’s flushing so hard at being caught that you can’t help but laugh, as he turns from sultry to painfully shy. After a few more kisses and a frustrated groan on his part, you go back outside to join the adoption day festivities. 

- You get the call to pick up a golden retriever hybrid much like you would get any other call.

- It’s the second you’ve gotten in the last week and it’s only Thursday, though the first hybrid of the week has been clear that she wants to be re-adopted as soon as possible. You get the call and a blurry picture as proof, a brutish man with a hand tugging a small blonde head with golden ears as curly as the rest of his head. the neighbor tells you he’d seen the man beat the hybrid out in the yard, heard his cries of stop- and though of your add in the paper. 

- You and namjoon leave soon after dinner in your old red truck, before you go Taehyung assures you that he’ll make sure everyone cleans up from dinner and that the two child hybrids that came to stay last week will be in bed before 10. It honestly endears you that Taehyung takes on an older brother role with a lot of the younger hybrids, who during free hours, can be found bothering the bear hybrid to play games or let them steal spoonful’s of honey from the storeroom.  

- The drive is long, the day fading into night as you and Namjoon take mile after mile to heart. He switches off with you on the straightaways. You’ve been trying to teach him how to drive over the past few months (with many quaint misshapes where he accidentally knocked over your mailbox and a street sign or two, it’s a good thing your old truck is incredibly sturdy). 

- You whistle along with the song on the radio and namjoon smiles over at you, you're leaning your cheek on the door, hanging your head out of the open window the warm spring air tickling your long hair, your smile soft and happy. The love he has for you overflowing in his chest, thick and sweet like hidden honey. He might not say he loves you often, but you can taste it on his lips every time he kisses you, since the first confession, the kisses have come every day. 

- Namjoon still gets a little misty-eyed if he thinks about it too much. How much better you’ve gotten in the past few months since you’ve opened your home and started helping hybrids. He knows what it means for you to be able to help others out of situations like this. 

- With most pick-ups and house calls, you’re never sure what you’re driving into. Namjoon is always a little worried, unsure what kind of danger they’re going to find at the end of their journey. 

- Namjoon always anticipates the day that the human owners become violent, and his protective instincts go haywire whenever Namjoon has to leave you near someone abusive. Dredging up memories from a time that you’re both desperately trying to forget, but he’d never ask you to stop coming on these runs.

- This is why when you get to the house on the edge of the city where Namjoon used to work he lets you handle the transactional part of this, it helps that you’re very convincing. 

-The large jean jacket that was Namjoon’s at one point but has become yours pulled snugly over your stomach. You answer the door, talk to the owner weave a story of a widow who needs help on their farm. The man smells distinctly of alcohol and cheep cigars, namjoon sees you holding your breath- even as the conversation becomes less than cordial. Namjoon stops the door from closing in your face by shoving his foot into the door. 

- “I’ll level with you asshole,” you say, “you can either take my money and hand over the hybrid now- or I can go to the police with this” you hold out your phone and the video. “The fine for abusing hybrids is just about as much as what I’m offering to take him off your hands. Either way he’s coming home with me tonight. You can either make 500 dollars tonight or lose it- your choice.”  

- Through the whole conversation, Namjoon stands behind you, a silent sentinel even as the owner of the hybrid raises his voice. You argue more, but eventually, he agrees. Namjoon goes to retrieve the hybrid after a small nod from you; you’ve got this handled, Namjoon follows his nose.  

- Over the past few years, Jimin has become accustomed to just about every kind of abuse there is. 

- Even when he sleeps, adrenaline lugs it’s way through his veins ready to jump at the slightest indication of his owner coming down the hall. He knows he shouldn’t sleep right now, get it when he can, but the concussion he got earlier today makes his head feel heavy and nausea still rolls in his belly. 

- He lies- hides- underneath his bed; an old military cot in the cold garage. Not that he ever sleeps on top of it- it’s safer to sleep underneath. That way if his owner comes in later at night he’ll think Jimin has fucked off to some other corner of the house.

- He knows the concussion is all his own fault- he’d been stupid- but he’d just wanted to shower, to get some of the grime out from under his fingernails, he hadn’t expected his owner to come back from wherever he disappeared to so soon. Jimin shivers as he remembers the jarring crack of his own head hitting the rocks outside where he’d been tossed outside. His memories after that were muddled with pain, though he was certain he’d vomited at one point from the taste in his mouth.

- You weren’t supposed to sleep when you had a concussion right? That was dangerous right? Jimin was trying to remember, lying on the side of his face that wasn’t bruised to all high heaven. He freezes when he hears the voices in the kitchen, but relaxes. If people are here that means his owner probably won’t bother Jimin tonight. 

- he might be able to get to the bathroom later and dab some cool water on his face, maybe sneak a few handfuls of something from the kitchen. Always small portions so that his owner couldn’t tell Jimin had taken anything- he couldn’t handle another beating so close to this one. Hunger eats his way through his stomach. 

- But then he hears the footsteps and thinks that maybe he isn’t so lucky tonight. he presses himself closer to the wall, tucking his knees up to his chest.  

- But why are the footsteps a different pattern, what is that scent? it smells like another hybrid- a little spicy musk twined in with pine. Jimin doesn’t like strange smells. The door opens slowly, and the scent seeps in further, along with- what could that be? The scent of something delicate and sweet clinging to the hybrid as strong as his own scent, milky and soft, and inexplicably vulnerable.

- He watches as the stiff workboots come into view, At this point, jimin can tell that it’s definitely not his owner.

- Namjoon finds Jimin curled up under his bed in the garage, and beacons him out in his calm voice, careful not to get close and startle him. “Come on out pup- we’re here to take you somewhere safe, I promise I will let no harm come to you again.” jimin eases when he sees the hybrid ears- another hybrid like him! another dog, his tail gives a single wag. “mm not a pup- i’m just small,” 

- Jimin pears out from under the bed at him, ears pinned to his head in fear. the hybrid looks fierce and intimidating with the scars on his face that jimin almost flinches back. But the wide worried eyes that he can see underneath those scars, the muted dimples stretching into a worried smile. 

- Jimin has been so downtrodden on his entire life that he doesn’t really believe Namjoon when he repeats the words, “we’re here to take you somewhere safe?” jimin dosent believe him- but at the same time, he thinks that nowhere could be worse than right where he is.  

- The other hybrids smile is kind, and dimply, despite the scars that mark his face as he sits on the ground so he dosent have to bend over to see under the cot. “sorry, it’s hard to get a good look at you, i’m namjoon, you’re Jimin right?” 

- Jimin crawls out from under his cot in the garage slowly, the room spinning.  half expecting the other hybrid to get tired of his slowness and yank him out. his owner did that sometimes when he felt like Jimin was being disrespectful of his time. Namjoon winces outwardly when Jimin’s left side turns towards the light, and Jimin knows that it can’t look good. He can barely see out of his eye after all the skin tender and swolen under his hands. 

- He’s mindful of all the dust on his clothes and the tare in the left leg of his red shorts, brushing a dust bunny off his side, suddenly feeling lacking in front of the well taken care of hybrid.  

- He follows a pace behind Namjoon back into the living room, his owner stands with you, you’re shorter but holding your own with sharp stubborn eyes. A human, so this must be Namjoon’s owner. The second your eyes fall on Jimin, on his swollen side of his face, your eyes turn softer and definitely angrier. 

- The scent of flowers and cream hits Jimin like a wave so pungent that it fills his nostrils and overwhelms him a little, it’s not unpleasant- just unexpected- and when he sees you he understands why. Though you’re obviously trying to conceal your pregnant stomach your scent is a dead giveaway every hybrid in a mile radius probably can smell you.  

- Jimin can see Namjoon straighten up a little, becoming more protective the closer they get to Jimin’s owner, who doesn’t look happy (not by a long, astronomical shot) Jimin shivers as he turns his eyes on him, his arms crossed, and Namjoon instinctually steps in front of Jimin to hide him from view. Jimin sways on his feet. 

- You plunge your hand into your bag by your side, pulling out a stack of bills, for a moment jimin almost wants to stop you- tell you that he’s not worth that much, but Namjoon holds out a hand, almost pressing it to Jimin’s chest to keep him from doing so. 

- The money is counted, “good riddance useless mutt,” his owner spits after he signs over the adoption documents to you.  Jimin’s flinch is sobering, his owner laughs. Namjoon actually shoves him back The saliva hitting Jimin’s feet as he reels, and you lay a gentle arm around his shoulders, guiding him outside. Sending a final glare in the direction of the man. 

- Jimin can barely process any of it through the spinning in his head, a spinning that moderately stops the second he gets outside into the cool air of the May evening. The scent of flowers and pine in his nose and the taste of blood in his mouth.  

- You soothe him with a soft voice once they’re out of earshot and take a quick look at Jimin’s half swollen face. A cellphone flashlight in his face and thundering in his ears. Momentarily blinding him. Jimin closes his eye as the pads of your fingers turn his chin this way and that to assess his wounds. “Do you think you need to go to the hospital Jimin?” you ask, careful to stay quiet and delicate with him.

- In the window of Jimin’s old house, the curtain twitches, and Namjoon knows they need to leave soon. Bad will and money lead to safety that only lasts so long, and they definitely don’t need the cops called on them especially after Namjoon shoved him, hybrids have been sent to jail for less. 

- “No, I think I’ll be fine” Jimin mumbles, unable to resist leaning into your hand, so soft, your scent making him feel almost hazy and out of it than his probable concussion does. And Namjoon freezes, reminded that not too long ago that you looked like this too- that he was the one leaning into your hands. The memory hits him so violently that he whines, low in his throat. Jimin looks up, ears flicking agitated like he’s asking what wrong, sending a panicked glance between the two of you defaulting to namjoon, the elder hybrid, to know what to do around you- his new owner. 

- “let me- let's get you into the car” namjoon grips jimin around the top of his arms and lifts him in, his skinned knee resisting the bend that would be needed to pull himself up into the back seat. He sits tense and curled up before you remind him that he can stretch out. and he settles onto the seat with his his back up against one side, and his feet pressed against the opposite door. the back window open to let the night air wip in. 

- You stop at the gas station and give Jimin ice for his black eye and some food and snacks, which he gobbles up hungrily. He’s so preoccupied with food, that he dosent notice Namjoon’s dimpled smile in the mirror after Jimin groans at how good the gas station burrito tastes, licking his fingers with a pop. You give Namjoon a soft, knowing look when his tail thumps against the seat. he tosses Jimin two more bags of chips and a sweet elecrtolite drink, and watches expectantly to see more of Jimin’s happy little whines and pleased grumbles. and you stifle a huffing laugh. 

- Namjoon can’t help it, the hybrid in the back seat looks so thin, almost startlingly so; he’s smaller than average too- probably malnourished. Namjoon’s natural caregiver instincts flaring up and demanding to be satisfied so desperately that he even tosses his flannel over him when he sees the hybrid shiver. You sent Namjoon a curious look, and he hides his flush by turning to watch the roadside. 

- Jimin stretches out across the back seat with Namjoon’s giant flannel thrown over his shoulders, checking to make sure neither of you is looking back at him before he presses the collar to his nose and takes a deep breath of your combines scents, trying to reconcile his senses with what surely must be a dream. 

- This has to be just a concussion dream jimin decides, what else would his mind come up with, other than a sweet fantasy. Someone comes to take him out of the hell his life was, give him food. He wants to take in everything, the smell of the night air, the silhouette of your face in the headlights, namjoon’s ears poking out above the headrest. 

- He hovers on Namjoon’s hand entwined with yours over the center console, the hand that Namjoon occasionally reaches out to rest against your swollen stomach, gently drawing lazy circles as you pull onto the main road.

- Yup, Jimin decides, this is definitely a dream, but he hopes it’s real.  The last little bit of hope feels almost stupid to have, for hybrids like Jimin, there are very rarely happy endings.

- He falls asleep by the time you reach the highway, lulled by the thrumming road and the oldies song faintly playing out of the crackly speakers of the beat-up truck. His last thought before sleep takes him is hope. 

-  Jimin hopes with the last shred of himself that is joyful and kind and not purely concerned with survival that this is not a dream, and that where he is going will be a little bit better than where he just was. 

- Even just a little bit better than this dream, he doesn’t even need anything like the affection burning in both of your eyes or the kindness you’ve shown him, if he can just lay his head down and rest without being worried he’ll be woken up with pain and fear again, that will be enough. 

- To Jimin, the farm is an Eden.

( my Kofi )

[soliavenne]

Just Sand Sibling Things + Shinki: How do they deal with cooking?

Hi! I have been thinking of having Just Sand Sibling Things (+ Shinki now and then) as a series of works. :) I guess this is the first entry haha.

Hope you like it! <3

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Excellent cook, obviously the most versatile out of the four. Appetizer, main entrée, snacks and dessert, you name it. Not very adventurous when it comes to recipes, but she’s well-rounded enough  with the basics to tweak an ingredient or a two from the book if she knows she’ll be able to improve the taste.

Knows that she’s great at what she does, and she’s damn proud of it.

Very confident, but can actually be secretly conscious of what she serves, especially when it’s her first time cooking the specific food. She would rather start over again than serve something that doesn’t suit her standards.

Tries her best to mind her own business while eating but is stealthily inspecting her brothers, or her husband and son’s facial expression as they eat her food.

Very organized, every ingredient is in each separate plates. Not the type to leave a pile of dirty plates on the sink and wash it all at once by the end of cooking. She will wash some of them now and then if she could leave the cooking process alone on itself.

Praise her damn food, praise her cooking skills. She might not look like it but she’s a big, big sucker for appreciation. If you have been generous for the past few days with compliments, she’ll try her best to free up her schedule and proceed to serve a damn feast over the table.

If ever she ends up serving something that doesn’t taste good, she would understand a very faint grimace or two on your face. But that’s all, don’t bother telling her about it if she doesn’t ask you about it. She knows what’s wrong already and she’s already beating up herself about it.

Mostly cooks foods that are on the healthier spectrum, but would flat out bake herself her own pizza and brownies at 12 AM.

Would try to hide her midnight snacks as much as possible, but if she gets caught, she would huff and act all annoyed but is secretly happy to share it. She just likes riling people up a bit, but she’s very sweet and generous.

What reads above cannot be applied if she’s on her period or she had a fight with Shikamaru, you better fuck off and leave her alone.

--

He’s not that much keen to cooking, but this man is not dumb. Knows at least the very, very basic fundamentals around the kitchen.

It’s those common mistakes that usually happens if someone’s just starting to venture out on cooking. A little too much salt, a little heavy on the pepper, the meat is tad bit raw while the crust is already burned. Those kind of technical mishaps. He would not be unbelievably awful at it.  

Tries his best to listen to Temari’s advices on cooking, but he ends up overthinking it. He’s best off learning on his own and figuring out for himself what went wrong.

Skilled at cooking instant foods and junk foods. Knows damn well how to elevate them. The type of food he ends up cooking are more on the indulgent side, mostly savory type of foods. Hamburgers, meat pizza, steak, and ribs, you name it.

Has been secretly saving up to buy his own pellet grill and personalize it.

Does not know exactly how to cook healthy-family based foods like vegetable stew or chicken soup or anything of the like. He either gets to eat it if Temari is cooking, or it’s a takeout.

Very messy cook. Spoons with unidentified sauces are everywhere, there’s even a plate on the living room that he’s not sure how it even got there.

Would probably wash it once a dirty pan had punched his face and Temari is screaming on the other end of the handle.

Don’t talk to him when he’s focusing, he’s going to get flustered about the whole thing.

Just as sensitive as Temari when it comes to feedback. He would laugh alongside a negative comment, but he won’t be cooking anything that isn’t instant food for the next whole week.

If you praise him so much he will end up being so worked up about it that he cooks the same thing tomorrow night. He would try so hard to hit the same note but he was overthinking it the whole time so it doesn’t end up as good.

A genuine praise could go such a long way for Kankuro. He might not look like it but he’s genuinely appreciative of it and finds it very encouraging.

--

Doesn’t necessarily hate cooking, but he just doesn’t know to pave his way around it.

Believes that cooking is a fundamental skill, but is still avoiding the opportunity to work on it. He had bought some cooking books and probably printed some recipes from Yahoo and allrecipes.com, but he’s secretly relieved whenever Kankuro asks if he wants something to eat from the store.

Very shy about asking for help, but if Temari or Kankuro does volunteer to teach him something, he would not refuse it.

Nearly passed out once because he has been letting his breakfast pass when Temari left for Konoha. Kankuro scolded him a bit, but ten minutes later they were already talking about sandwiches. When Gaara mentioned that he misses waking up to Temari cooking pancakes in their shared apartment, they surprisingly ended up having a genuinely-deep conversation about it; talking along the lines of how they really feel about their sister leaving Suna.

Kankuro told him that he’ll be letting him off easy but if he wants to be a much more effective Kazekage, he has to take care of himself. The epiphany had hit Gaara so hard he bought a new apron and a pan on his way home from work.

The first set of foods that he focused on was under the bracket of breakfast meals. A bowl of plain oatmeal and a little bit of sugar was okay, but it did get redundant and he swore to himself he’d throw the bowl out of the window if he had to make another one of it again for the 3rd week of that month.

Began to buy pancake box-mixes where all he had to worry about was adding eggs, water and oil. Once he had gotten the hang of it, he decided to follow a pancake recipe from scratch. He thinks it tastes better, but it wasn’t something he could do every day.

Thinks he had found his soulmate when he started making granola. He could prepare it in advance and stock it up. He finds it very convenient.

An understandable kind of messy, maybe a little smudge of batter on his cheek when he’s cooking pancakes. Dirty plates would be on a pile but he would arrange them by size and category before washing them all together after he ends up eating.

Takes cooking seriously that he even bought a hairnet. Kankuro caught him once wearing it and the ten-minute laugh he had out of watching his baby brother cook with a hairnet on just made Gaara opt to tie his hair instead.

Sometimes boils eggs at night in advance so that he could simply peel one in the morning for breakfast.  

All in all, he mostly cooks usual, literally off the recipe book breakfast meals. Most of them are healthy.

It would take a lot of time before you get him to serve you the food he made. He doesn’t like disappointing people and as stoic as he may be he would also be just as sensitive about it.

Began to develop the drive to cook better when he adopted Shinki. He remembers vividly how happy he was whenever Yashamaru brings him a bento, so he decides to take the effort to study bento making now and then whenever he’s not that busy.

When he saw a small, cute apron from the store, he found himself buying it to give to Shinki. He still hasn’t built up the courage to ask Shinki to have a cooking bonding with him though because he’s not that confident about his skills just yet.

--

A very responsible kid. Has the self-awareness that basics of cooking should be developed in order to survive independently no matter where you go. He even knows how to start fire from scratch.

The first thing he had ask Gaara regarding preparing food is how Gaara makes his coffee. Ever since he was able to replicate it, he sometimes even gets up earlier than his father so that he could prepare the warm beverage beforehand. He doesn’t drink coffee everyday, but with a craving now and then sometimes, he likes adding a splash of milk to it. He and Gaara both share the same preference when it comes to the level of sweetness.  

Not very adventurous when it comes to recipes. As long as it’s filling and easy to make, that will be his chosen route.

Has asked Gaara once about his special pancake mix, and he had been making it mostly everyday. The fluffy texture of it soon got a little tiring, so he started wondering what else he could eat for breakfast. Despite being very mature for his age, he’s still a kid who has the hint of wonder for foods that are still comfortable yet a little exciting now and then.

When Yodo took him and Araya once to a waffle stand on their way home from a mission, he started buying one almost everyday. He’s more of a savory-waffle kind of kid.

Gaara takes notice of this, and when Shinki woke up to a wafflemaker and printed waffle recipes on the kitchen counter one morning, he couldn’t help a very, very rare and genuine smile on his face.

He might not that be that much inclined to cooking, but on days where he’s not busy, he tries to read about it. His main drive about cooking is so that his father comes home to a much more healthier meal instead of having takeouts almost every night. He loves and respect his father that much, and he’s also health and fitness-conscious since he really does take his job as a shinobi very seriously.

The same as Temari in terms of cooking. Neatly organized, no dirty plates lying around the counter. Every ingredient is measured and calculated.

His face might not be anywhere near grinning but he’s actually happy whenever he dons the apron that Gaara bought him.

Doesn’t really care if you don’t like the food unless you’re his dad.

 --

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell Of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 5

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 5: By Your Side

“Next is the bag of chips, why he likes pizza flavor I will never know,” Mac muttered as he pushed his cart through the aisles.

The two teenagers in his care, at this point Mei might as well be one of his, had opted out of the grocery trip and decided to do their own thing on the other side of town. Still well perfectly within hearing distance, but he smartly decided not to eavesdrop on their conversations, he would rather not have two very creative, and vengeful, kids out to get him.

After he had grabbed the bag of chips and placed it in with all the many, many items in the cart, some of them were not even for him and the two kids as his friends tend to make themselves at home at times. He feels like he should be charging his friends for the amount of stuff he gets for them no matter how rich he may be.

‘Who even needs this many ghost peppers, 3 bundles of apples, a bag of soft sponges, industrial nail filer, and a goddamn indestructible chew ball,’ he internally ranted in his head as he went through another aisle, ‘What am I, their parent?’ They have their own damn jobs!’ He then looked through some of their teas available and his nose scrunched up as he picked up a box of passion fruit tea. “Who the fuck even likes passion fruit tea? That shit is way too sweet,” he grumbled to himself.

“Well store bought ones usually don’t have that same ‘Oomph’ as homemade ones,” a deep voice said.

“You’re telling me,” Mac agreed as he side glance at the man who was reaching for one of the teas on the top shelf as he couldn’t contain his eye twitch. ‘Okay, been in this city for gods knows how long, and in the span of less than a year I managed to find ones that are descendants or reincarnation of most of the fucking crew. What the actual fuck is this sort of luck?! I know that there are historians willing to sell their soul for even a trace of this, so what kind of fucked up luck am I getting that I just stumbled upon them.’

“Hm,” he, the overgrown beast of a demon that shared too much resemblance to Sha Wujing, titled his head to him. “Is there something the matter?” His eyes widen as he tries to look over his body and pants, “Do I have cat hair on me?! I thought I managed to clean the last of it off before I left.”

“No, no,” he waved him off, “just thought you looked familiar, that’s all.”

“Oh well in that case,” the large man shifted his basket to his other hand and stuck out his right, “my name is Sandy, it’s nice to meet a fellow tea lover.”

Macaque stared at the hand for a bit before giving a small smirk and shaking it, “Name Macaque and right back at ya big lug.”

“Personally I like the Biluochun Tea,” Sandy said as he plucked up a box of Chamomile, “but unfortunately they have yet to fully bloom in my garden so I am making do with a substitute,” he joked.

“Then how about Kuding?” Mac recommended.

“I may like the taste of bitter, but I don’t want that to be my only taste,” he admitted.

“Well I think it’s pretty good.”

“Let me take a wild guess and say that you don’t like sweet things.”

“I only tolerate for my kiddos,” he mumbled as he put the box of Junshan Yinzhen Tea, he already had a batch of Kuding growing out in the garden, so there is little point in grabbing a weak ass store brand tea that held not even the same resemblance to how it truly tastes. He tried a box out of sheer curiosity and immediately chuck that so far away, that thing that called itself Kuding tea is a disgrace to the true masterpiece.

“You have kids,” the demon piped up as he walked alongside the monkey.

“Technically one, but with the number of times she stays over, I might as well claim that hellion,” he grumbled as the two goes out of the aisle and towards the meat.

“Awww, that’s sweet,” he put his hand to his very muscular chest, “the only little ones I have are my adorable cats,” he then proudly showed off his wallet which had an assortment of different kinds of cats.

“Cute,” he admitted as he took in the collection of cats, “was this an all at once thing or more of a gradual.”

“Oh some were gradual, others were in groups, and some was just picked up,” he said as he put up his wallet, “Like one day I come home and find Mimi, one of my older ones, carrying the most adorable blue kitten,” he began to tell his tale of Mo as the two continued their shopping together.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” Pigsy yelled out as he served a tray full of steaming hot noodles to his other customers.

“Man, this place is packed today,” Mac said as he took the only seat on the counter, which was by the entrance. The place was brimming with customers, either loitering outside waiting for their order or just chatting amicably inside.

“Yeah, lunch hour kicks my as-butt each time,” he had to suppress a groan and put on a customer service grin as he watched another group stroll in. “Be with you in a minute!”

“I thought you had some staff? I know the last time we came in, we saw a driver leaving with the food,” he asked as he straightened out his lavender dress covered with floral print.

“Well,” Pigsy said after he finished taking orders and began making the food, “I had to fire that lazy bum after he called off so many times, a few I get, but how does 4 out of the five days you work help?! And you still expect me to pay you for a full two weeks of service?” He grumbled harshly as he then took a few of the clean bowls out.

“Yikes,” Mac grimaced, “…want some help?”

The owner paused and sharply looked towards the monkey, “you offering?”

“Yeah, don’t really have anything better to do, besides,” he showed off two more clones, which barely made people bat an eye as they were too engrossed in their meals and phones, “I am basically a one man army.”

Pigsy looked so wistfully at that power and quickly asked, “are you any good at customer service?”

“I volunteer at a theater,” he raised an eyebrow.

“You're hired,” the shorter demon threw an apron at him, “you’ll get paid by the end of the day.”

“Instead of that, how bout next time I drop by, food is on the house?” He bargained as he put on the apron.

“Deal,” he instantly agreed and he could feel a wave of relief wash over him as he now could focus on cooking instead of everything at once. “Next time why don’t you talk to Tang about how free meals work, maybe then his lazy butt can finally start paying me.”

“Why don’t you just not give him free food?” Macaque smirked as he saw a faint blush on the pig’s face.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

The monkey said nothing more as he put the apron on, turned to the group of people that was just seated, took out a notepad, and gave his most theatrical smile “Welcome to Pigsy Noodles, what can I get started for you?”

“So anyway, I have been looking through some of the books that I saw in an antique store, and let me tell you that I scored the motherload!” Tang excitedly said as he talked beside the lake. “Guess what I happened to find.”

“What?” The creature prompted him as he casually floated in the water.

“You have money? You actually have a job,” the other being questioned, “and you still let Pigsy pay for your food?”

“It’s a journal that tells the tale of someone who got trapped in the spiritual world after a failed ritual!” He exclaimed as he steadfastly ignored the previous question.

“Pffftt,” he sputtered out a laugh.

“I don’t know about you but isn’t it usually a bad thing when someone gets trapped somewhere,” Macaque drawled out as he chewed on a plum as he stretched out on the grass with a baby monkey clinging onto him. Ní, who decided to chill in her rabbit form for some reason, also nodded as she laid down on the sunlight grass. “Also, you haven’t answered my question.”

“Well she obviously is alright since she wrote this book and all,” the historian tried to defend himself as he still didn’t answer.

“Surrree.”

“It’s true, you agree with me right Shu,” he turned to the water demon.

“Absolutely,” the Shui Gui cheekily said.

Tang shot a smirk at him.

“He agrees with anything he finds funny,” he rolled his eyes.

“Well anyway,” he took out the book and showed it to them, “this book illustrates how Chi-Chi journey through the treacherous parts of the realm, tricked many dangerous beings, gazed upon the beauty of the uncharted, and met so many spirits and immortals along the way!”

“Is that so,” Mac hummed.

“I would give an arm and a leg to meet an immortal or even a spirit,” he said unblinkingly then he went back to his fanboy mode, “I would have so many questions to ask them!”

The 2 immortal beings shared a look at each other as the monkey then put a hand over the spirit’s mouth to stop him from saying anything.

“Don’t you even think about it Kappa,” he warned him.

The drowned spirit just gave him a cheeky grin as he raised his webbed hands in the air.

“I swear,” Macaque grumbled as he put down his hand, “how the hell did the two of you even become friends?”

“He fed me some beef jerky,” he happily explained, “and that was the start of a beautiful friendship.”

“And he never once comments on why you always hang around the lake and not anywhere else?” He incredulously said.

“Nope!”

“Adrenaline junkie I swear.”

“You say something?” Tang called out as he paused his fanboy mode.

“Just talking about your obvious crush on Pigsy,” Mac facepalmed when the spirit just had to say that of all things.

“It’s not a crush!” Tang marched up to him with his ears redder than an apple, “Can’t someone just appreciate another person's attractive qualities?”

“Yes, yes you can,” he agreed.

“Good,” the fanatic crossed his arms, “then you can safely assume that-.”

“Butttt you have a fancy for the pig,” the spirit ended.

“NO I DO NOT!”

“The sheer irony is actually ridiculous,” Mac said to himself as he slowly petted the infant.

“Ooo oo,” the baby macaque cooed.

“No, you cannot eat my tail.”

“You know, I’m getting real tired of those idiots' constant fighting,” Macaque grumbled as he petted a very fat and very fluffy cat.

“Tell me about it,” Sandy nodded his head as he drank some tea. “They have been at it for almost the second they met each other.”

“I swear I am so close to just shoving them both in a closet alone and letting them deal with it.”

“Yeahhh, that might not work so well,” Sandy drawled out as he set down his cup.

“Why? Cause it won’t be right,” he mocked.

“Well there’s that, but also there’s the fact that it would absolutely do nothing at all and just lead to them bickering more,” he pointed out.

“You, unfortunately, have a point,” he slumped back as another cat crawled on top of him.

“Also, I may have already tried that.”

“Wait? Really?” He sat back up and looked at the blue demon’s sheepish expression.

“Let me just tell you that seeing it on t.v does not really work the same way as real life,” he still remembered how they were both mad at him for locking them in a room together.

“Tell me about it,” Mac already knows the pain as both MK and Mei went through this phase as they tried to do the most ridiculous stunts or experiment with dangerous chemicals. Luckily he managed to stop or save them in time, but there were a few times where he was preoccupied or just missed it. Let it be known that they both learned their lesson after breaking bones and a fierce rash all over their arms. He still doesn't know what they were trying to prove with the lacquer tree. “Oh yeah, how did it go with flicker the other day? Didn’t give you too much trouble?”

“Oh nothing I couldn’t handle,” Sandy smiled at the mention of his newest client, “Can’t tell you much cause of confidentiality and whatnot, but he is open to another session.”

The monkey nodded, “that’s good, Gods know he needs it, now if Raki was more amenable to the idea, but she is the most prideful person I know and that is including her husband.”

The blue demon winced, “yeahhh I can see how that might be a bit difficult.”

“You're telling me.”

“Focus,” Macaque yelled out as he nimbly dodged a flying kick, “remember that when you strike, you make sure that strike will be your last.”

Mei didn’t say a word as she growled at her missed shot and jumped towards him then fainted for an upward cut then quickly proceeded to go into a low roll as MK came up from behind with a high kick.

“Good plan you two,” he praised as he simply jumped above MK’s head and said, “but try going for a grapple next time, it would have been more effective to topple me over rather than try to catch me off guard in the air.”

MK flipped backward and attempted to grab onto his tail, which he quickly realized was a mistake as he felt the tail wrap around his arm and flung him to Mei, who was charging at him.

“If I was an unskilled fighter then that would have been quite an effective weakness to exploit, but it’s too bad I’m not,” he mocked the two as he caught Mei sword with one hand and MK escrima stick with the other and casually tossed them back to the edges of the tree line.

“Oh come on!/We almost had him!” Both teens yelled out as they simultaneously punched a tree in frustration, which left a handprint etched into the wood when they took it out.

Only Macaque noticed this as both of the kids elected to split off from each other and try to attack him from both sides. “Guess they have adapted quite well to my energy,” he mused as he watched them run towards him, “Probably should tell them to take it easy else they’ll break their bones, again.” He then easily began to dodge from both of their attacks as they gave it their all to finally hit the damn monkey.

And this how it continued, with both seventeen year olds working together to finally land a hit on the speedy monkey, only for it to fail every time.

“You're getting better,” he said as he looked down on the two exhausted teenagers trying to catch their breath.

“One day,” Mei took a long deep breath before continuing, “one day, I don’t know when, but one day I will punch that damn smug off your face.”

“Ditto,” MK raised his hand in the air then dropped it then pushed his loose hair out of his eyes.

Mei saw this and gave a faint snort, “you know I can help with your hair-”

“I’m not putting pigtails in my head again,” he deadpanned.

“Come on, I can even get fluffy to join.”

“How about no,” he bluntly said as handed them two cold water bottles, “take a breather breezy, starlight. We can resume in a few minutes.”

“Okayy,” they moaned out.

“Awww, but I bet you would look cute in pigtails,” they all turned to see Minsheng hop in with a few others as well, “I know there will be a lot of demons just willing to pay for a pic, just think of the money.”

“Remember the glitter,” Macaque growled out.

“The bunny paused and crossed their arms as their friends laughed behind him, “ Well I’m just saying.”

“It took them ages to get all that out,” Daiyu stated, it didn’t even come off until a full month has gone by, and yet they still found small patches in their fur.

“Almost killed him when he tried to hug me with that on him,” Bohai huffed as he glowed a bit at the horrible image of him even having a speck of that abomination on him.

“They looked like my gremlin’s arts and crafts masterpiece when they were five,” Yanyu chortled.

“It was indeed horrible,” Ahmed lowly chuckled out as he slowly trailed behind them all, then all demons, and adult human, in the vicinity paused.

“Oh right this,” the bluenette human almost hit herself at how quickly she forgot, “we did come here for a reason.”

“Voices gettin to ya,” the long-furred monkey easily asked the lion demon.

“They have been a bit annoying,” he gave a weak chuckle.

“I feel ya,” he turned to his kids, “go towards the tree line with the rest of them, it seems that class will have to be cut short.”

“Okay?” Both were very confused, but obliged by the demon words as they walked over to the group, only to be pulled back by Bohai. “Hey!/What?”

“Oh trust me,” the jellyfish demon said, “you do not want to be anywhere near Ahmed at the moment. He’s a bit...unhinged.”

“Him? But he’s a total softie,” Mei shot a look to him.

“He let Mei put ribbons in his mane,” MK added.

“Oh there’s no doubt about Med squishy heart, but there are times where he just has to cut loose, ya feel me,” the vulture just received confused looks.

“Just watch,” the bunny demon grinned and took out a bundle of golden carrots, and began to eat.

“What do you mean-,” she was cut off by Macauqe voice.

“Come at me you overgrown cat.”

They saw Ahmed give a grateful nod before he went on all four, not even caring about his messing up his robes, and his body started to spasm as he let out a fierce roar that made everyone in the vicinity cover their ears.

ROAAARRRRR

He then flickered out of view and the monkey quickly had both his arms crossed in front of him as a plume of dirt and dust gathered around him without warning. It was only when it was settled that the demons and humans saw that the once flat field now had a decent crater in the middle with both lion and monkey. Ahmed gave a low snarl as he saw that the monkey was not harmed.

“Aww baby cub claws not working,” he mocked him as he sent a hard kick to his jaw, “how bout I help ya there.”

He growled as he quickly grabbed the monkey’s leg and flung him to the ground, he gave a nasty grin as he saw blood trickle from his head.

“Wouldn’t get too cocky, haven’t you already tasted the blood trickling out of your jaw?”

The lion stilled as he tasted the metallic tang covering his tongue, he let out a low growl in frustration.

“First blood to me,” was all Mac had to say before the lion gave a roar and lunged at him, thus the fight beginning once more.

MK and Mei were stunned silent as they watch the vicious battle as each time Ahmed tried to throw an attack it would either get dodged or redirected, but if he did manage to land one blood was always shed. Macaque was the same way as each time he managed to strike him down they swore that they heard bones loudly breaking.

But neither side gave in.

“Terrifying right,” they were slightly startled by Yanyu’s voice and couldn’t help, but fall over as they saw, not only her, but everyone casually laying down and/or eating.

“Oh don’t give us that look,” Daiyu said as she hummed and watched the lion attempt to claw the monkey's eyes out, “it’s only some bloodshed, nothing major. Though it would be more thrilling if a certain spider bitch was involved, I would love to see her blood splattered out,” she lowly huffed.

“What she means to say is that Macaque has this well in hand, this isn’t his first time dealing with ol Meddy when he’s primal,” Bohai tried to comfort them.

“Primal?” MK questioned.

“Basically it’s when someone instinct takes over,” Minsheng explained as they munched on their carrot while watching Mac throw him harshly to the ground, “sometimes it’s a good thing like you stuck in a corner and you got a colony you need to protect behind you, it’s one hell of a boost let me tell you. Other times not so much.”

Both kids blinked at that lackluster answer.

“What they mean,” Bohai continued as they casually looked away from Ahmed sinking his teeth into Macaque shoulder, “is that other times the bad times, to put it bluntly, it’s when the voices get so loud that it begins to control your entire being until you finally get rid of it. If you're lucky, it can be as easy as sleeping, if not well,” he looked at where the six-eared monkey had ripped his shoulder away from Ahmed red stained fangs and proceeded to knock out a few teeth in retaliation. “That.”

“He becomes bloodthirsty,” Mei quietly says.

“Yeah,” Yanyu softly brought them down next to her as she gave them a bag of popcorn, “it’s not pretty, but he just has to let it out.”

“But why is Dad the one fighting him?! Why not any of you!” He half shouted in nervousness and anger as he looked towards the demons, specifically Daiyu.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a death wish,” Bohai bluntly stated.

“Here here,” Sheng raised his hand.

“Tried that once and I was beaten in a minute flat,” the vulture huffed, “if Mackie wasn’t there then my body would have been a nice dinner to the rest of the wake.”

“Thus their first meeting,” the bunny added.

“Wait, Mac Mac first time meeting Ahmed was when he was beating the shit out of Daiyu and then to each other,” Mei asked.

“Yep,” they collectively said.

“And he is literally the only one able to fight against him?” MK questioned.”

“Yep,” they repeated.

Both teens took a glance as the monkey continued his vicious strikes against the lion, who attempted to decapitate his head every time, but each time he missed he instead decimated any boulders in the unfortunate vicinity into dust. The primal lion retaliated with his own thundering roar, but Macaque was fast enough to dodge the attacks that uprooted a grove of trees.

“Well there goes any small lingering doubts on how he was able to go toe to toe with the Monkey King,” Mei deadpanned as she slumped and stuffed her hand into the popcorn.

MK followed suit as he ate some popcorn, “you’re telling me.”

“He is kicking major monkey ass right now.”

“I am so happy that he is going easy on us,” the ponytail boy whispered out.

“Holy shit, no kidding,” she agreed, “just think, we could have been less than paste on the side of the road with a single hit if he actually tried to let loose with us.”

“Nahh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Min waved their worries off, “other than this, the only other time he actually lets loose is around his exes.”

“I’m sorry, his WHAT?!/Wait? WHAT?!” Mei and MK sat up as Mei continued, “what do you mean exes?!”

“Dad dated?!?!?” MK followed suit.

“Oh yeah,” Yanyu grinned, “I even met some of them, and let me tell you that he has horrible taste in partners.”

“I don’t think it’s his fault that most of them fall on the insane scale and not in a good way,” Bohai deadpanned.

“By insane you mean impulsive as shit that tries to fight anything that moves, then yeah,” Daiyu nodded.

“It’s weird hearing those words coming from you,” the adult human teased.

“Hey, I may like fighting, but even I have my own limits. His partners take the entire train and then the second one charging at em.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around Dad dating,” the seventeen year old muttered as he gripped his head as he looked towards the blood stained battle. “This I can get, but dating?”

“…I am so never gonna let this go,” a twinkle of mischievous appeared in Mei's eyes as she looked at them, “sooo if you had to guess, which one is his most insane, or worst, partner.”

“I have to say Hui, that scorpion bastard seemed nice enough, but she was a raging alcoholic that always tried to get into the celestial realm for some booze” Sheng started as they stuffed the rest of the carrot in their mouth.

“Ju. He was a fishy one, that turtle was always looking for his next meal, no matter where it came from,” Bohai grumbled.

“Might have something to do with nature,” Yanyu teased.

“Shut up.”

“Both of ya are brain dead if you forgot who really takes the crown,” the winged demon interjected.

“Who then?”

Daiyu and Yanyu just looked at each other before saying, “Lemur bitch.”

“Fair point,” both aquatic and land demons replied.

“Who?” Mei asked, but it was met with grimaced faces.

“Just,” Bohai began, “just pray you never meet him, Shun is-,” he was cut off by a loud yell.

SLAM

“WE DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM!” Macaque screeched while all his ears flared up, his eyes twitch violently with a wild look. “NEVER!” He repeated as he pressed his foot and staff on the lion’s back, who was just growling out and thrashing wildly under him.

“Yeahhh, let’s just say that after him, doc swore off on dating,” Yanyu sighed as she ate a handful of popcorn.

“But what did he do?” MK said as he was careful to avoid the name.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“But I really do,” Mei leaned in.

“No you don’t.”

“But I-,” she got a mouthful of popcorn stuffed in her mouth.

“You don’t,” Yanyu pulled back her hand, “now let’s watch them beat the shit out of each other. 20 on Mufasa knocking him out this time.”

“I’ll add to that,” Min added.

“Well I bet 25 that Dad will knock him out!” MK shouted, “there’s no way he’ll lose.”

“And I’ll double that,” Mei joined in after she swallowed the popcorn, “no way pops is losing to an overgrown cat!”

“Get ready to eat your words.”

“The only thing I’ll be eating is some delicious double truffle swirl ice cream with your money.”

“Let’s just see about that.”

(Minsheng soon regretted those words as both Mei and MK happily ate their ice cream alongside a bandaged, but still a very conscious monkey, and a bruised up lion who was contently knocked out.)

“And that should be the last of it,” the eighteen year old boy grinned as he then noticed a violet headband hanging next to a stuffed monkey, “whoops, can’t forget that.” He quickly snatched it up and proceeded to put his hair in a ponytail then began to look around his room.

The room, once filled with clothes spread all over the floor, glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, pictures and posters covering the walls, now laid bare with only a few boxes left to the side filled with them all. MK couldn’t stop the sad grin that formed on his face as he took in the sight of his room-old room, he was going to miss this, but he felt that it was time to move out and try living on his own for a while.

Knock Knock

“Sorry I’m not in right now, leave a message,” he jokingly said despite fully knowing who is on the other side.

The door swung open to reveal Macaque fondly rolling his eyes, “Where’d you get that snark from, I’ll never know.”

“Neither shall I.”

The monkey looked around the room, “so it looks like you're about done, you gonna bring it all over to Pigsy?”

“Most of it, yeah, but I have a separate pile I'm donating or giving to Yan munchkins,” he pointed to a few boxes titled ‘Donations’ and ‘Yanyu Gremlins.’

Mac smirked at the name as he gave a little walk around the bare room and noticed that where the bed used to be was a splatter of red paint and a dent in the wall, “huh, so how did this happen?”

MK froze as he saw what he was looking at and gave a nervous grin, “so remember when Mei was over and we had a bunch of paint for that art project.”

“The one about the deities or the one about nature?”

“Nature, and well remember how you found us covered in paint in here.”

“After I told you to keep it in the kitchen or outside so it won't be too hard to clean up, yes.” He deadpanned.

“And we did at first,” he put a finger up, “buttttt I left some of my materials in my room and it was alot, so Mei followed, but we kinda forgot that we still had wet paint all over us and we began to freak out. One thing led to another and Mei may have accidentally used too much force as she was panicking and let to the dent in the wall, which then made us panic even more, so we had the idea of moving the bed to cover the dent, which worked...except now the covers had paint on it and well....”

“Is how I found the both of you freaking out on the bed covered head to toe in paint,” the monkey snorted.

“In hindsight, we probably should have taken off our shoes before walking inside,” he scratched the back of his neck and sat against the wall opposing the window.

“That would have been a smart idea, took us ages to get it all cleaned,” he smirked as he sat beside him.

The teenager sighed as he looked out the window, “I'm gonna miss this.”

“Pfft, who says you can’t come back?” He playfully ruffled his head, “this isn’t a goodbye, but a see you later, you're always welcomed back home anytime.”

“Even if I screw it up time and time again,” he leaned into the touch.

“Even if you managed to wreck the whole country and have a bounty coming from the heavens that could feed nations for lifetimes,” Mac shot back.

MK laughed at the image, “Havoc in Heaven’s sequel, now with more monkeys.”

“And dragons,” the demon added.

“Mei would kick so much ass.”

“She absolutely would,” he chuckled as he continued to thread his fingers through his son's hair.

It was silent and, like so many times before, the two of them took only comfort from it.

“Dad,” MK quietly began.

“Yes comet.”

“… I’m scared,” he curled up into him, “like super duper scared and I have never left you ever since you saved-,”

“You would have-,” Macaque interjected.

“Saved,” he emphasized, “me and I can never thank you enough for just being there but I really want to do this and I really want to try to do things on my own! But I don’t know why I am so scared-wait I do, but it just so stupid and I can’t believe that I feel this way, cause you won’t just up and leave, but I-,” he stopped as he felt his Dad arms encircle him.

“It’s a scary step and I know change is terrifying, but I am so proud that you want to do this. It will be hard, no doubt, and at times it may seem like the whole world is against you, but know that you still have tomorrow waiting for you. So,” he tilted his son's head, “keep your head held high and look towards the stars, cause that right there is your limit starlight.”

MK smiled at his father's words.

“Also I think you may have forgotten something,” he showed off his six ears fluttering. “I have six ears for a reason, so if you ever need help or just need me, just call and-,”

“You’ll come running,” he grinned as he pushed himself further into the monkey's soft fur.

“And don’t you forget it,” he pushed his face into his son's hair and gave a soft kiss on top.

“I won’t,” he whispered out and clutched onto him tightly as both curled up in content.

[writingsbychlo]

put her together again (epilogue)

word count; 3238

summary; mitch finally gets the girl, and she takes her last step into becoming a real member of society again.

notes; I hope y’all loved this series as much as I did, I got the idea randomly one day, and was in love with it straight away, so I hope you all feel the same way.

warnings; none!

“You really think I can do this?”

You were staring up at him, wide eyes and a nervous expression as you clutched a piece of paper between your hands, the same resume that he had spent the entirety of last night curating for you as a surprise after seeing the advert displayed in the window of the library when the two of you had been walking past on your nightly routes. “I have full faith in you.”

“Good, because I have no faith.” You whispered the words, more like they were only meant for yourself, and he didn’t bother to comment on them, but let it slide, rubbing his hands up and down your arms reassuringly. You snorted a laugh, mischief twinkling in your eyes as you looked up at him, a single brow raised, and you waved the paper sheet back at him. “Volunteered at a group home?”

“Not technically a lie.” He was smirking now, pride growing within him as you laughed at his joke.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a voluntary experience, but I like your cunning.” He only offered you a wink, watching as you read over the rest of his half-lies as he filled your application form with only partially twisted versions of your truths. 

“Besides, you can wow them with all your languages and intense book knowledge. They won’t even need to look at the form, and the library will have a pretty new assistant.”

“Yeah. yeah, okay.” You rolled your eyes, but gave him no resistance when he pulled you close enough to press a delicate kiss to your forehead, hands cupping your cheeks, and he lingered there for a second, long enough to get a smell of your shampoo, and feel the warmth from your body washing over him, before he was pulling back. 

“Now, go. I’ll wait right over there in the coffee shop, okay?”

You only nodded, a determined look on your face that he thought was absolutely adorable, but Mitch suppressed that thought, a tight smile in response to your own, before you were spinning on your heel and walking into the library that you knew so well, familiar to you from months of visiting to get books, no applying for a job. 

It was time, for sure. Time to get out into the world, and to find your place within society. You had been locked up with him for so long, to keep you safe from anybody who would be looking for you, to take you out and make sure the information in your head remained hidden, but now, you wee free. There was no more looming threats, no more enemies lurking around each corner, you could go out when and where you pleased, and you could get a real job, You could have an email account, and a phone number, and a house registered in your own name. You could have membership cards that he didn’t have to set up, and you could make a place in the world that you carved and crafted yourself, without fear of having it all ripped away from you. 

You deserved it, after everything you had been through, you deserved to know that you had something happy that was all yours, something you earned without anyone else and without having to do something wrong to get it, something that was all yours to keep, to hang onto. 

The shop was busy as Mitch stepped into the establishment, slightly crowded in a way that made his skin prickle, and he joined the queue, hands shoved into his pockets and eyes fixed upon the menus in hopes that nobody except the barista would talk to him, and nobody would bump into him. 

He had already spotted a table free, one outside, slightly less populated in the colder temperatures, but you both had coats, and so it was perfect, and he was staring at that spot, mentally warning off anybody who might wish to sit there. He knew your order by heart now, your drink of choice slipping from his tongue easily alongside his own, wallet out to hand over some notes, and then he was taking two hot drinks, and beelining to the back of the little building.

Using his foot to push open the door, he placed the steaming mugs down on the counter, sitting with his back to the windows and wrapping his foot around the leg of the other chair to stop anybody coming along and asking to take it before you got here. He was fiercely protective, and actively tried to convince himself that it was only because he thought you deserved more, that he was looking after you in a protective way, but he was biased, and he knew it, too.

Mitch couldn’t deny it, he knew he was falling in love with you, but you were still trying to discover where you fit into the world, and he didn’t want you to feel obligated to be with him just because he saved you. He knew you loved him, as a friend, it was in every action and every smile, and every time you hung out with him. You had other friends, you had a comparison to work with, and so that was a fact he could trust, but romance and love was an entirely new concept to you, and he’d be damned if he let you fall into a relationship with him if he didn’t know that it was certainly what you wanted too. 

The bitter chill of the wind swept over, and Mitch huffed, bringing his coffee closer to himself and tearing open a packet of the complimentary sugar, a wooden stirrer between his teeth as he added ample amounts of creamer and sweetener, until he was satisfied, the dark colour of the coffee raising to a warm golden colour, and yours was still sitting opposite as he took a sip. The whipped cream on top of the hazelnut latte was melting, dripping down the side of the mug, and he knew you liked it that way, so he wasn’t especially worried about it, but he still hoped that you would arrive soon, because he didn’t want you to drink it cold.

He could see the library from here, and could see each time the doors opened and closed, watching as people came and went. Patrons, workers, deliveries, he counted them all off, but then, came you. 

Good news. He could already tell, even while you were too far away from him to see your expression, because there was a pep in your step, speedy movements as you got closer and closer, waiting for the cars to pause so that you could cross the road. He could see you clearly now, a wide smile on your face as you made your way over to him. Bright eyes, big smile, excitement flittering over your features.

He straightened up as you finally made it over to him, pressing a brown envelope down onto the table before him and pushing it across with two fingers, hands clasping behind your back as you rolled on the balls of your feet. He took the packet, running his finger under the seal and opening it up, before tipping it upside down and dropping out the contents onto the wired meal tabletop.

A somewhat thick set of forms, a handbook, a keycard and a holder to go around your neck. It was containing a balanced identity card now, waiting for your photograph and name to be printed on, but it said ‘Library Assistant’, and a folded up copy of your new contract, the ink having printed a little from where it had been folded while still wet.

“You got it?”

He stared up, watching as your straightened face cracked open with a blinding beam, a squeal following as your composure fell away. “I got it! As of Monday morning, eight sharp, I work at the local library!”

“Holy shit, I’m so proud of you!” He was on his feet seconds later, arms held out widely for you and your body crashed into his, wrapping yourself up in his embrace as tightly as you could, squeezing him like he was you, and he could feel your laugh from where your face was pressed into his shoulder.

He felt you pulling back, your fingers detangling from where they’d wrapped into the material of his jumper, and he felt his breathing pause as your hand smoothed up his chest to cup his face. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“It was all you, I just filled out an application for you.” He shrugged it off, dropping his smirk down into an earnest smile as his hands found your waist, the heat of your body seeping out from underneath the material. You were staring up at him, thumbs stroking delicately over his cheekbones as your expression went from playful to serious, and he couldn’t help the way he tipped his head into your hand a little more, treasuring your touch. “What are you thinking about?”

“I don’t just mean the library, Mitch, I meant everything.” His brows furrowed, frown taking over, and he knew exactly what you meant, but he still found it hard to watch the way the pain flickered in your eyes as you thought about your past. “I couldn’t do any of this without you. You saved me, you helped me find who I was. I don’t think I can ever repay you for that.”

“Just stay in my life, don’t leave me, and you can consider it a debt repaid.”

He knew how desperate he sounded, but he needed you, and he wasn’t going to let you go without a fight, because he wasn't sure he liked the idea of going back to the world he lived in before meeting you. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

He only nodded, his soft smile falling away as the two of you continued to look at one another, and his eyes widened as you moved again, not anticipating your movements until it was happening. Your lips pressed to his gently, and Mitch let out a whine as everything within him went blank, his mind clearing, before he was holding onto you a little tighter. He was pulling you closer, hands on your hips moving around to rest on your back as he pulled you up close to him, and your own fingers dug a little firmer into his jaw.

Soft lips, the taste of the mint lingering in your mouth spreading to his, and he let out a breathy moan as he felt your heart thud steadily against his chest. He had thought about it for so long, dreamt about how it would feel to hold you like this, and he felt like pure ecstasy was bursting through his veins as he finally experienced it. His head tipped to the side, nose bumping your own as he pushed back into you, sucking slightly on your lower lip and feeling his head spin as you whimpered at the feeling.

It was inexperienced, but you weren’t to blame for that, you’d never really had a chance to have this kind of intimacy with someone, and just like that, reality came crashing back down onto him. The timid and nervous movements you’d been growing into that only a second ago he found endearing, now made him feel wrong, like he’d taken something from you that he shouldn’t have, like he was a criminal, and he pulled back with a jolt, taking a sudden breath. 

His eyes snapped open, finding you staring up at him, a little shocked, with kiss bitten lips and flushed cheeks as you panted for breath, and he hated the effect that such a look on your face was having on him, making him want to ravish you, without a care for who might see.

“W-We can't. We can’t do that, we shouldn’t.” He took a step back, a tight smile on his face as he covered up the stabbing in his heart as he watched your face crumple for just a second, before it was going blank once again, and you were dipping your head. When you looked back up, he let out a relieved breath, the usual friendly smile on your face, and you shrugged your shoulders. 

“You got me a hazelnut latte?”

“Of course, it’s your favourite.” He grinned, taking his seat once again, and he watched as you gathered the items back up into the brown envelope once again, pressing it shut, before reaching for your mug. You didn’t sit beside him, though, like he’d anticipated, but opposite him, and he frowned. He knew it was stupid, to think such a small action meant anything, but you always sat next to him in public, your leg pressed to his as you sought out physical affection with which to ground yourself and calm down. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

You let out a little laugh, glancing up at him for a split second, before taking a long gulp of your coffee, the liquid now cool enough to drink like that, before lowering it again. “Of course not! I don’t have anything to be mad about.”

He simply hummed, not believing you, but having no proof. You looked around yourself again, and he didn’t take his eyes off of you, watching as you observed your environment, smile changing in minuscule movements with every expression, before finally, you brought your attention back to the table. 

He waited for you to speak, waited for anything, but you were content in the silence. Stretching his leg out under the table, he searched for you, but your body language changed as you folded your legs underneath your chair, subtly, but not enough for him to miss. 

“You’re lying, you’re totally mad at me.”

He hated the way his voice cracked as he spoke, but he didn’t like the idea of you being angry with him, of not wanting to be around him, of ignoring him or going home and letting him fade away from your life now that you actually had one to experience. “I already told you, I’m not mad at you!” There was a teasing tilt to your tone, a little laugh to follow it, but he wasn’t accepting that.

“Then why are you acting differently, huh?”

“I haven’t done anything different! I sat down, like, two minutes ago!” 

He scoffed, pouting a little now as he looked at you. “You’re not sitting next to me, and you won’t touch me - or even look at me, and you’re not speaking. You always have things to tell me.” You met his gaze now, defiantly, as if to prove a point, and he scowled at the action, before your shoulders seemed to sag. You slumped in your seats scratching your nail over a dried stain of lost whipped cream that had melted along the outside of the mug.

“It’s easier that way.”

“What is?” 

You nibbled on your lower lip, frowning to yourself, your eyes flicking up to meet his but barely, before you were staring off into space once again, and speaking in a scarcely audible whisper with your answer; “To not get hurt because you don’t want me back.”

He left his drink, moving into the chair beside you and forcing you to look up at him with two fingers under your chin. “Sweetheart, what are you talking about?”

“I think kissing you made that pretty clear, Mitch.” Your tone was a little bitter, and he almost flinched, but he couldn’t blame anyone but himself for that, swallowing thickly and opening his mouth to reply, but you cut him off; “I thought maybe you felt the same way, but you don’t, and that’s okay. It’s hard, though, to just go back to the things that made me feel that way in the first place, so I don’t.”

“But, you don’t know how you feel. Not really.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” You were mad now, and he cursed at his own lack of competency with his words, but even when you were frustrated at him, you seemed to sense that he was struggling, and you waited patiently for him to work out what to say.

“I just meant that you don’t know anyone else, you don’t know if it’s me that you want! You’ve never experienced these things, you know, deciding you’re into someone more than platonically, deciding you want to be with them, going on dates, getting your heart broken. There’s a whole lot of stuff out there that you don’t even know about, yet!”

There was a softer look in your eyes now, and you shook your head, but it was fondly and not dismissively, and you rested a hand on his cheek once again. He held your hand to his face, shaking his head and twisting enough to press a kiss to your palm, but he was holding onto you now, not wanting you to retract the simple touch. “You think just because I haven't had my heart broken yet, that I don’t know what it’s like when I start to love someone?”

“You’re falling in love with me?” He barely heard himself say the words, and he felt like his eyes were going to fall from his head because they were so wide, but he didn’t miss the bashful smile, or the way you tried to bite back your amusement as he stared at you.

“Yeah, apparently, I feel that way even when you’re saying stupid shit to try and push me away.”

He was grinning himself now, leaning in and until your foreheads were pressing together, and you were sharing a breath in the cold, a weak laugh on his lips. “You’re sure?”

“Pretty sure, have been for a few weeks now, actually..”

“Good, because I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you, too.” He didn’t hesitate this time, closing the gap between your lips, and this kiss was so much better than the first. There was no doubt, no inkling of guilt that made him feel like a villain, there was just passion and love and whispered confessions before your mouths were dragging together as his heart raced and his head span, every inch of his body lighting up like the Fourth of July just at getting to know you in this way.

You were leaning into him too, kissing him back just as eagerly as you began to learn the motions, messy kisses becoming smooth and fluid between partings for gasped breaths before you were diving in again. Your coffees started to go cold on the table as you instead memorised the taste of one another’s mouths, but neither of you cared, because right now, all that mattered was truly conveying how you felt about each other in affections that were long overdue and months in the making.

“Let’s go home. I don’t want to be here anymore.” He nipped your lower lip a little, grinning at the whine you gave him, but he pulled back, brushing a finger under your swollen lip to wipe away the shine he’d left behind. “I’ll cook you dinner, and we’ll watch a movie, and this time when I get to hold you, I can cuddle you like I’ve been wanting to do for so long.”

“Sounds perfect.”

[doverly]

For a Soul

A young soul-eater comes across what it thinks is a perfect target. After a bit of observation it decides that the time has come to make a deal.

~3k

After school Ria liked to decompress, I learned that quickly. Taking off her shoes, lying on her bed still all dolled up and just taking a moment to exist. Her parents thought that she was just procrastinating on starting her homework, but I could see that for Ria it was a necessary process. 

The day I made contact with her she was doing just that. Lying in bed, backpack out of sight, out of mind under her bed, just scrolling through Instagram. And while she was technically unwinding, Ria was anything but relaxed. It was the jealousy, that burning envy that made Ria fume that afternoon. Every girl or guy she followed seemed hotter, happier, more skilled, more successful. That was the reason she followed them after all, because they seemed so much better than her. So unreachably amazing that she just couldn’t take her eyes off of them. One post especially got Ria’s blood boiling. A woman, a black woman just like her, standing in front of a store. She owned it, she had just opened her own business.

“Of course,” Ria scoffed to herself, she didn’t really like letting anyone in her bedroom, “Look at her, pretty, well connected, I bet she’s fucking ivy league. Black girl magic? Fuck her, if I had everything she had I could do that too.”

Ria hearted the post and continued scrolling, each posting evoking this kind of response from her. Eventually she turned her phone off and got out her backpack, finally getting to her homework. It was crunch time, as her dad called it. She put her blonde wig up into a bun and sat down at her desk. Five minutes choosing what song to listen to and then she actually got started. A shaky start sure but it was a start. If someone knocked on her door now she would have to stop for the day, her concentration broken. Ria secretly hoped someone would. 

But no one did, her mom wasn’t back from work yet and her older brother was probably practicing for the chess tournament that weekend. Her dad was sleeping, he worked nights so he had to get his sleep. Ria wondered as she was filling out graphs for math, what would happen if she woke him up. He would probably yell at her and that would be another excuse not to do her homework. She didn’t though, dinner was already going to be hard so why would she make it harder. 

Dinner eventually came, it was nothing special just leftover pasta from the previous day. Ria’s mom came back from work, her dad woke up to have his before work meal, and her and her brother left their rooms. Ria was done with math and science, but she hadn’t even begun to tackle her history yet. Picking out a new playlist to listen to had taken up a lot of time so by the time dinner was ready Ria wasn’t even close to done. 

The dining table was crammed into the entryway between the stairs and the front door, somewhere more for guests than for the Bryan family. There was a table in the kitchen that they usually ate at but Ria’s mom had been on a family unity kick, that’s why they were even having dinner together in the first place. Ria hoped that her mom moved onto something else soon, maybe that anti-sugar thing that took over her mind every couple of months, because she hated sitting around the table. They all barely had anything in common so it was silent most of the time.

Ria ate her pasta quickly, school lunch was terrible so she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. The pasta was good, red sauce that wasn’t spicy, box pasta that wasn’t overcooked. But the green cushions on the chairs were cold and the atmosphere at the table awkward in a suffocating way. Ria definitely wasn’t getting seconds.

“Do you need a ride to the tournament on Saturday?” Ria’s dad asked her brother.

“No,” Samuel responded, “Lin and I are doing a carpool, she’s picking everyone up.”

Their dad nodded and everyone continued eating their meal in silence. Their dad because he was thinking of work, their mom because she was tired from work, Samuel because he was thinking of the tournament, and Ria because she just didn’t have anything to say.

“Have y’all finished your homework?” their mom asked?

Samuel responded yes immediately, like it was an insult to ask him. While Ria took another forkful of pasta and realized that she had never in her life said ya'll. 

“Have you?” her mom asked again.

Ria thought about how to phrase it, “I just have history left.”

Her mom shook her head, “You need to be more proactive, you can’t do extra credit if you don’t do all your homework. If you work harder this semester you can get all As, colleges will be looking at your grades Ria.”

Her dad joined in but Ria wasn’t listening, she had become a master at tuning out lectures. In middle school it had been get better grades, join the debate team, join the soccer team, you need to prepare for college. And now in highschool it’s been get better grades, do more volunteer work, join an honor society, prepare for college. When the lecture ended, with Samuel saying nothing, Ria nodded and said that she would work harder. She finished dinner, not too fast, she didn’t want them to think she was mad at them, and then went upstairs. Her parents thought that she was going to do the rest of her homework, but she had already resolved to do it in the morning. Her parents berating her had already provided her the perfect excuse not to do her homework.

Instead she plopped down on her bed and started scrolling through Instagram. I got to see the pattern in who she was following then. Models, students, hiking pages, along with a lot of flower arrangers. That made a lot of sense, Ria cared a lot about her appearance and even though she hated doing her homework she wished that she was a better student. And while she wasn’t on instagram she was hiking through the woods behind her house, looking for flowers she thought was neat. 

Between the study inspo and the delicate vases of flowers Ria came upon one of her favorite influencers. A girl, a senior in highschool in fact, living in New York City. She was holding up a college acceptance letter, several in fact. Columbia, Harvard, Yale, this girl was definitely Ivy League. “Guess my hard work is paying off lol, don’t worry with a little dedication I’ll see you guys there soon!”

This caption put Ria over the edge. She didn’t throw her phone across the room, her parents wouldn’t pay if she broke it, but she closed the app and put it down slowly. Head on her knees she started laughing, those angry, jealous, emotional tears were running down her face.

“Hard work?” Ria yelled just quiet enough that her family wouldn’t hear her, “Hard work? Bitch your parents are engineers, you live in New York City and you’re skinny as fuck. Hard work? Give me a fucking break! If I could just, if I just had....”

Ria was crying too much to rage anymore, her envy at the Instagram girl and her anger at her own poor performance spilling over into just pure emotion. 

I had been keeping track of her for a while and I had decided that it was time for us to make our deal. She was bunched up on her bed so I manifested a form I thought she would like and came up behind her, brushing her shoulders in a way that I hoped was reassuring. Ria turned around quickly, as anyone might turn around when someone touched them when they thought they were alone. 

Finding no one behind her, Ria just faced forward again and was about to continue crying. And she almost did, until she saw me. Ria didn’t cry out immediately, I had a calming effect on people by design, instead while I studied her up close she studied me. Watching people on the metaphysical plane was nice but it tended to blur out some of the color, some of the details of looking at people with eyes. Now that I was actually standing in front of her I could see that her long curly wig was dirty blonde, and her eyeliner was running. She sniffled and tried to clean up her smudged lip-gloss, taking all of me in. My form was a bunch of Instagram models that Ria had seen with skin darker than hers and short curly black hair. Ria started playing with her hair, and I laughed. It was adorable that she found me attractive. 

I sat down on the foot of her bed and smiled, “What if you could.”

The mixture of her attraction to me and my natural calming factor was working wonders, “Could what?”

“If you could have that, if you could do that, if you could be that?” I asked her, “What would you do then?”

Ria sniffled but I think she got it, “I would relax.”

Relax, she wanted to relax. I resisted the urge to smirk. If she wished to relax then there would be a lot of room to play around with that. Have her sleep forever, in a coma that is, like sleeping beauty? Or maybe I could just kill her and take her soul that way. After all death is eternal rest. 

“I can give you that, you’ll be able to relax as long as you want.” 

Ria thought for a second then shook her head, “I don’t want to just relax, I want to be able to relax. To not have to work hard, to just be able to relax and still excel in life. I don’t want to have to break myself in order to succeed.”

I cocked my head a bit, “But working hard gets you what you want in life, you need to work hard in order to succeed.”

“Do you think half the millionaires in this world worked hard!?” Ria exploded, “Why do they get to relax and have everything while I need to. I need to work 10 times as hard in order to just get a fraction of what they have! Mom works 50 hours a week and I never see Dad during the day.” Ria’s tears were hot and free flowing by this point. I scooted closer to her and rubbed her back a bit, “Samuel never has time to hike with me anymore, he says he needs to constantly be practicing in order to be captain of the chess team. And the only thing Jonathan can say about law school is how little he sleeps nowadays.”

I could infer that Jonathan was her oldest brother, already in law school while his little siblings were still in highschool. I wondered what the story was about that. Ria dissolved into tears, tears for her family that didn’t have time for her anymore, tears for her parents that were working hard for a daughter that didn’t want to, and tears for her siblings that were missing out on life.

She leaned into my chest, she must have been really sad. From what I understood the targets normally didn’t let their guards down that much.

“I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” she whispered, “I wish I could but I can’t. Mom always tells me to work hard and Dad is already suggesting majors to me. I don’t want to be the disappointment, that’s why I still get As, but I can’t keep doing this.”

“Tell me what you want, Ria.” I whispered into her ear, I was fully hugging her at this point, “Tell me and I can give it to you.”

She broke away from me at this point, her cheeks were wet but the black shirt I was wearing wasn’t. This I think tipped her off, but still somehow she wasn’t panicking. 

“Who are you?” she said softly, I think all of the crying had worn away at her voice.

I petted her head, listing what I was could be scary and I wanted to keep her relaxed in my presence. 

“I am the eyes you know are in the darkness, the teeth in the shadows, the one watching you from the starless sky.” I said softly, and she didn’t seem to panic, “I am the thing in the darkness and I know you.”

“How do you know me,” her dark brown eyes looked into mine. In that moment I put something behind the infinite darkness of my eyes. I wondered if she would ever stare long enough to find out what it was.

I laughed a bit, trying to get her to think I was a little embarrassed, “I’ve been watching you for about a week now Ria, I noticed that you have something that you really wanted in life and I wanted to give that to you.”

She pulled on her hair, it seems like she really was embarrassed, “You didn’t need to do that, you could have just asked me a week ago.”

I brushed her face with my hand, it was still wet and a little sticky but she had stopped crying at least, “I wanted to get to know you Ria. And now I do. What do you want, tell me and I can give it to you.”

She thought for a second, it was more like she was thinking about how to phrase it. Ria already knew what she wanted, she just didn’t know how to wish for it. 

While she was thinking her mom came upstairs, wanted to ask her if she had finished her homework. With just a thought I put some darkness around the door, nothing big, just enough to deter any normal human being from approaching it. I wished that I could control her mind, manipulate her limbs, or make her just disappear. But at this point I was still a young soul-eater, Ria would be my first soul. Once I had eaten her soul I would get more power, and it seemed like I was almost there.

“I want to be irresistible and for everything I make or put effort into be irresistible as well.” I smiled, she had really put some thought into it, “I want everything to give me what I want and think of me positively. This goes especially for job and college applications as well, no matter what I always want to be accepted.”

That sounded like hell, how would you know if you are actually good at something or if it was just the wish? I didn’t even need to put a negative spin on Ria’s wish, give it three months and she would be begging me to take away her soul. An amazing deal for a brand new-soul eater. I had worked hard to become who I was, and I knew that without hard work, without that feeling of accomplishment life would be nothing.

“Alright,” I said, “I can give you that. But I do need one thing from you.”

“What is it?”

This was where I could lose her, “It's really the promise that I need. The energy of you promising something important to me is what will give me the energy to grant your wish. Don’t think too hard about the sticker price, think instead about what you will be getting.”

She nodded, “What do you need me to promise you for it to work?”

Again I petted her hair and the look she gave me was so trusting. I guess an attractive wish granter promising the world, promising everything she knew could never happen, would put anyone in a state of complete bliss.

Technically what I told her was true, the energy from her promise would power the wish. But what I didn’t tell her was that I needed to eventually get her soul. The potential energy needed to be converted to kinetic energy for it all to work. I would need to get her soul. She hadn’t thought enough about her wish, I could almost feel the slippery, sunlit energy of her soul.

“I need your soul, Ria.”

I must have done a good job talking to her, she didn’t jump away from me just looked a little concerned. Like she had cracked her phone screen and was worried about the price.

“But what will I do without a soul?” she asked.

I shook my head and for good measure laughed, “It's just a promise remember. Like how even though Audible could take away your books for any reason it doesn’t. Think of it like signing a contract, it's just paper. Don’t worry, just think about how great your life will be. No need to work for anything, you’ll have the space to relax.”

This seemed to bolster her confidence, “Alright, you can have my soul-”

She stopped and for a second I thought she had rethought everything, “Actually what’s your name?”

I knew that some of the older soul-eaters had names, names that would send shivers down your spine, names that would blind you just for thinking of them, names that would make you melt. But when Ria asked me that I didn’t have anything to say to her.

“Call me whatever you wish, Ria.” I smiled.

“Alright,” she said, but she didn’t even suggest any names, “I’m ready to promise me your soul.”

As much as I wanted her soul I was shocked and intrigued at how little she was thinking of this. What was she thinking? Was I missing something? It was my first deal I didn’t want to get tricked.

“Would you really promise your soul just so you don’t have to work hard?” I asked her, then, pushing the boundaries a bit I cupped her face, “You’re smart, you’re pretty, you could get far in life if you worked hard. Is this promise worth it for you?”

She laughed bitterly, her sadness having seamlessly converted to anger, “Nathaniel’s in law school now. He doesn’t have friends, he has connections, he’s studying 12 hours a day after his 5 hours of classes, he has like two side hustles. And I know that he thinks it's worth it, but I don’t. I don’t want to be exhausted when I grow up, I want to live, not just hustle.”

Even if she didn’t want to be exhausted I thought that she was underestimating how much the satisfaction of hard work played in her life. She was angry, just thinking about what she didn’t want instead of what she actually wanted her life to be. I could have talked her down, could have reminded her how amazing life could be with that satisfaction. But I wasn’t there to be her therapist, I was there to get her soul.

“Alright, how long do you want the wish to last?” I asked her, in order for it to work every promise would need to have a time limit. Some predestined date where all of the potential energy would start to convert. 

“Forever,” Ria responded.

I laughed, “Nothing can last forever, Ria.” And then seeing that she was getting apprehensive again I decided to go for a compromise, “But things can last a lifetime, things can last ten years, however long you wish Ria.”

She nodded, “Alright I want it to last the rest of my life.”

I had the promise, the time frame, and what she wanted. It was ready, I could almost taste her soul. Before Ria had any more time to think I grabbed her face, sinking my fingers into her cheeks. I looked deep into her eyes, deeper than any human could. Her retinas, her optic nerve, I saw her brain. When I could see the lighting jumping between her neurons the deal was sealed and I disappeared.

Ria was left lying on her bed, feet dangling over the edge, with a light buzzing in her head. She got up to do her homework, wondering if it had all been real.

I recently read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and it kind of inspired this story. I’m trying to put more emotion into my stories. Please tell me if Ria’s character felt believable or if I got her emotions across. Have an amazing weekend! 

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

Ultimate ship meme for Glow?

General:

Rate the Ship -  Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - They would definitely last forever - like, if there is some kind of afterlife for them, they’ll be together there as well. 

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I actually imagine that falling in love for them was a slow process, like it often can be with relationships like theirs, which start as friends and develop into a romance. They kind of had this thing where they knew they loved each other before they realized they were in love with each other. 

How was their first kiss? - It was actually a pretty simple moment. They were just...relaxing together, probably snuggling on the window seat in Glimmer’s room, when Bow just kind of...gave her a little peck on the lips. Glimmer was a little surprised at first, but she kissed him back shortly after, and they just...kept snuggling for a while longer.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Bow, and to steal an idea from my friend  tolstoyevskywrites he technically proposed twice. Once with a fairly simple ring that he literally shot through Glimmer’s window with a note asking her to marry him, and once later on with a fancier ring he made himself. She said “Yes” the first time, but he wanted to do it again, properly. 

Who is the best man/men? - Most likely a couple of Bow’s brothers, along with maybe Sea Hawk….And Swift Wind would probably insist on being “best horse” because excluding him would just be discrimination and rude.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Adora is probaly one of them, and one of Bow’s sisters probably takes up the other spot (I still headcanon him as having brothers and sisters)

Who did the most planning? - Probably Bow did a little bit more, but Glimmer definitely offered her input a fair amount. Though, honestly, Castaspella probably made about as many decisions as either of them once she found out about the wedding. 

Who stressed the most? - Glimmer, without a doubt. Bow did his best to calm her down whenever he could. 

How fancy was the ceremony? -Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - No one was specifically not invited, though Glimmer did try and avoid her aunt finding out for as long as possible, just to try and avoid her taking over the preparations. 

Sex:

Who is on top? - They switch sometimes, but usually Bow’s on top.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Glimmer is the one who instigates things the most, particularly because she likes to…get Bow worked up during times she really shouldn’t, like during meetings. 

How healthy is their sex life? -Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? -Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - They normally go at least two rounds a night, though sometimes three. How long the rounds last really does depend on the night, and how quick or slow they want to go.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - They usually make an effort, and even if one of them “comes up short” one time, the other tries to make up for it the next time they have a chance to be intimate. 

How rough are they in bed? -Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - They’d probably plan either two or three. I think Bow liked growing up with siblings and Glimmer used to think that she would have liked having a brother or sister, so they’d probably want more than one, but not so many that they’d feel totally overwhelmed. 

How many children will they adopt? - Probably none, not because they would be against the idea, but just because I don’t think it’d ever really cross their minds. That being said, if they were asked to foster a child or two, they would happily accept the offer.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Bow, but he technically volunteers for diaper duty. He figures that since Glimmer has to feed the baby, the least he can do is let her get a little extra sleep while he changes the diapers. 

Who is the stricter parent? - Neither of them is exactly a pushover, but Glimmer tends to be a little more strict, taking influence from how her mom raised her growing up, even if she does try to give her own kids more freedom than she felt she had. 

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Bow is already Glimmer’s impulse control, so he’d just kind of automatically take that role for his children as well. 

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - They both remember and they take turns making the lunches. Glimmer is more likely to give them an extra snack, so the kids often ask her to make them more than they’ll ask Bow, but they each end up doing it about the same amount.  

Who is the more loved parent? - They’re both loved equally overall, but it depends on the specific child who they are closer to. And obviously neither of them is unloved by any of their children; they just have more in common with some of their kids than others. 

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - They both definitely try their best to attend, but Glimmer often has to deal with court stuff, so sometimes Bow has to go alone.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Definitely Bow. Glimmer might get emotional, but she does her best to not cry in public, while he just flat out doesn’t care.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Probably Glimmer, if only because her rank basically means she can use her power to get them out of trouble without any real issue.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Well, they have chefs to do most of the cooking, but between the two of them, if you’re talking specifically cooking and not baking, that’s Bow. 

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Neither is particularly picky in regards to food, but between the two of them, Glimmer might be slightly more picky.

Who does the grocery shopping? - They often go together, but Bow is the one who is more likely to do that particular chore on his own.

How often do they bake desserts? - Considering Glimmer has a sweet tooth, pretty much every other day, since they usually have leftovers from the previous night’s meal.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - They’ll eat either, but if they had to choose between the two, probably go a little more towards the meat dishes.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Bow would be the one to actually get away with doing the surprise, just because he’s a better cook. Plus, he can usually get a little more free time to make the meal.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Glimmer, though Bow is pretty much never actually against the idea

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? - Neither, though Glimmer is probably more likely to set off the smoke alarm

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Glimmer will help, but Bow is the one who just sort of instinctively tidies up. It’s a habit he picked up after so many times of cleaning up Glimmer’s room while listening to her rant about her mom.

Who is really against chores? - Neither of them is against chores, though Glimmer is more likely to put off doing them until the last minute. 

Who cleans up after the pets? - Both of them. It was a joint decision to get pets, so they both take responsibility for them, including the messes they make.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - That is Glimmer, without a doubt. She usually cleans properly, but sometimes she puts it off for a little too long and just needs to hide everything until later.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Probably Bow, but Glimmer has been known to have her last minute stressing moments, especially if their guests are someone she wants to leave a good impression on.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Neither of them, because nobody who visits or lives there carries cash.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Probably Glimmer, but even then, not by much, and really only when she’s super stressed and needs a way to relax, since a hot bath reminds her a bit of the steam grotto at Mystacor.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They take turns, but Bow does it more often, mostly because he likes to go out in the morning while Glimmer prefers to sleep in.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Every year unless they have something outside of their control that will keep them from doing so, and even then, they still try and do something, even if it’s not as big as they’d normally go for the holidays. But, whenever possible, they go all out. 

What are their goals for the relationship? - Nothing in particular, really. They just want to be together and grow and learn from each other for as long as they possibly can. But, ultimately, their main goal is just to be together and make each other as happy as they can.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Neither of them really sleeps that late, honestly. Bow is definitely the one who gets up earlier, but Glimmer is usually awake by ten even without him waking her. 

Who plays the most pranks? - Glimmer, mostly because it’s easier to get away with a prank when you can just teleport away from the scene and pretend you had nothing to do with it.

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (32)- Listening

I’m so sorry for this chapter being late.

We switched to a new system at work, and I’m a sort of Adobe Creative Cloud expert in the office, so I had to learn the new system, and then prepare to teach it to everyone else, who were in the same meetings that I was in, but didn’t understand. This has made for several weeks of 10-12 hour long days. Gettin’ that bread tho!!

I had a chapter mostly finished, then I realized I was skipping a bunch of stuff, so I had to take time to really hash out the order of the next half of the story. Hopefully, my vague ideas won’t change too much. lol

I started a new blog, dedicated to sharing works that have been harassed on Ao3 by a certain anon. If you or a friend have received repeated, unwanted harassment by a certain troll, please feel free to reach out to me @lilaanonsupportgroup. The goal is to create a safe place to share fics and drown out unwanted comments.

Thank you all for your patience!  

Ao3 | FF.net

—

Pierre Rouso was not a praying man. He was a criminal, with a charge list the length of his arm. But he was completely and utterly done as of tonight. The bald camera man sat in his holding cell, crying his eyes and guilt out, praying for forgiveness. He had participated with the police chief, just as he promised, and led everyone down to the Bunker in the Catacombs. He handed over passwords, combinations to locks, found every key he knew of, and did everything he could to make up for the injustice of his actions.

Seven prisoners were recovered from the bunker, all huddled into ambulances and taken to hospitals. Families were contacted, and missing person cases were closed.

All in the span of one night.

It was terrifying, and Pierre knew he was traumatized.

He awaited his fate in the holding cell at the precinct, though it was more of a formality than anything. The police chief had assured him that his cooperation was greatly appreciated and would reflect well on him when trial came.

He got his one phone call, and instead of calling his parents or friends, anyone that he knew would listen to him, he decided to call his kid sister.

He got her voicemail. “Elise? It’s Pierre. I know you…you’re disappointed with me. I really let you down. I’m supposed to be an example to you, but so far, I’ve only been an example of what not to do.” He swallowed. “I just wanted to let you know, I’m sorry. I’ve really messed up, and I got tied up with the wrong crowd, trying to get my life turned around. Sort of…an Ursula from the Little Mermaid situation. I made things worse, and…well, I might be going back to prison. You’ll probably hear about it on the news.” He choked, the truth getting caught in his throat. But he vomited it out anyway. “I was…involved in the Ladybug and Chat Noir incident. I didn’t want to be, but Salo said if I didn’t—she would—she knew mom and dad’s address. Knew yours too. I felt so helpless. I just needed to confess to you. You probably won’t believe me. You…probably think I’m a failure as a brother. I sure feel like one. But, ever since that night you cut me off, I vowed to turn things around. I wanted you to be proud of me. Because I love you, and I’m so so proud of you. You’re a great kid, and the best sister a guy could ask for. I don’t ask for forgiveness. Just…understanding. I’m…I’m at the police precinct right now. This is my one phone call. Maybe I should have called Ma,” he chuckled. “But I couldn’t stop myself. I was just through hell. I don’t know if you saw the news. I was the person behind the camera. I don’t know why Ladybug spared me, but I didn’t want to waste another moment. I had to tell you. You hear me, Elise? Don’t waste anytime either. If there’s anything you want to do, do it.” He let out a shuttering breath. “Maybe, if you’re feeling generous, could you let ma and pa know? I know that’s asking a lot. I’m sorry to burden you.”

The phone beeped, a warning that he was running out of time.

“But I love you. I will never stop loving you. Even if you never talk to me again. That’s fine. Go out there and be amazing. Um…I’m going to hang up now. Bye.”

It was an awkward way to end the message, but he had to. Or else he’d go into more rambling apologies and ‘I love you’s. Not necessarily a bad thing, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her.

That was several hours ago, after he had returned from his tour of the bunker. Then he was allowed to wash up, cleaning the blood from his face and arms. His clothes were stained, but there was nothing to do about it.

He waited then. Officers letting brief updates float around the room. Edward Savauge had been murdered, his body hoisted from the Arc de Triomphe like a trophy. Lady Lacrima and Grimalkin faced off against the auxiliary heroes and Hawkmoth.

Several more hours passed before a group of three banged up kids were brought into his holding cell with him.

“What happened to you boys?” Pierre asked, noticing the way they trembled.

“There’s two akuma on the loose.” Said one of the boys. “It was just supposed to…we just wanted the money in the cash register. Easy, right? But I had no idea that he was there.”

“Who?”

“Chat Noir. Or…who used to be Chat Noir. Sent one of us to the hospital.”

Pierre grunted. “You’re lucky that’s all he did.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“I mean…I saw what those two are capable of. They killed a room full of people without breaking a sweat. This blood? It’s not mine. You should thank your lucky stars.”

Then, a rush of red Ladybugs filtered passed the cell, lifting the blood from his clothes, and easing the soreness in the boys.

Pierre sighed as a cheer went up through the Precinct. “It’s over. It’s finally over.”  

—

Nadja was exhausted, if not completely traumatized. She had been the one to volunteer to follow the Ladybug and Chat Noir story. So she had been on high alert with the van at any moment, ready to get a shot of the akumas in person.

But Lady Lacrima’s demonstration at the Arc de Triomphe was beyond horrible. It was scary, vial, and evil. Everything that Ladybug wasn’t. Later, she would find out that the cameras had turned away from the bodies as soon as they were revealed. They only captured Lady Lacrima’s speech, and the wails of the crowd surrounding them.

But it was over now.

The Miraculous Cure had run it’s course through Paris, correcting everything since they were first akumatized. It even fixed the damage caused by the wrecking ball akuma that started this whole mess.

She had even seen Marinette and Adrien loaded in the stretchers with her own eyes.

The hospital was silent. No one was allowed any information without clearance. So Nadja went home, finally. She’d monitor her phone and the Ladyblog. Someone would say something eventually, right?

—

Chloe had been helpful for once. She arrived at the hospital waiting room with her butler loaded up like a pack-mule.

“Alya, Nino, your backpacks.” She announced, holding out the bags.

“Thanks Chloe, you’re a real lifesaver!” Alya said honestly, noting her laptop was safely tucked inside.

“I know. Mrs. Cheng, I brought your purse with your phone chargers.”  

“Thank you dear.”

“And Mr. Agreste,” she said with some level of coldness. “I brought the project that was in your office. Sorry if it’s wrinkled.”

“That’s fine Chloe. I can iron it.” He said, coming to take the hefty bag from the butler.

“That will be all, Jean-Pierre.”

“Yes, Miss Bourgeois.” He bowed before leaving the room. He technically wasn’t cleared to be in the room anyways.

Chloe plopped into a chair by Alya and Nino. “Any word?”

“Not any more than what I texted you.” Alya sighed. “Adrien’s still in surgery.”

“And Marinette?”

“She’s in recovery.” Stated Sabine. “We’re not allowed to see her yet.”

Chloe ‘hmph’ed, crossing her arms. “I suppose I’ll just have to be patient then.”

“You? Patient?” teased Alya.

“I’ve been known to be patient! On occasion!”

“Sure Chloe, I believe you.” Nino said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Chloe knew they meant none of it. She was happy she had become something akin to friends with them since this started. Not close friendship, but…she could tolerate a few meals together, and what they had affectionately called ‘sleepovers’ which were just watching the stream and strategizing. When this was all over, and Adrien and Marinette were back to their old selves again, she might even be persuaded to hang out with all of them, as a group.

Her, Alya, and Marinette could get mani-pedis. Heck, Adrien would probably be game for that too.

Yes, when this was all over, and everything went back to normal, they’d all have a lot of fun together. It would be great!

Pollen left her purse and settled on the chair with the other kwamis. Wayzz and Trixx were playing a card game, and Pollen joined.

But Tikki and Plagg were much too solemn to do anything.

“I should be with him.” Plagg stated, agitated, for the 100th time.

“You heard the doctor.” Tikki scolded softly. “Adrien’s immune system is down. Any germs could be detrimental to him.”

“I don’t have germs.” Plagg hissed.

“Oh yeah? So that wasn’t you who contracted fleas in the 12th century and spread a plague that wiped out a 1/3 of Europe in 6 years? That was another ‘Plagg’ of whom the name was attributed?”

Plagg hissed at her and curled in on himself. “I didn’t ask you.”

“Plagg, I know you love Adrien, but you have to let the doctors work.”

“I am!” He argued. “There’s not a lock in this world that can stop me from being with him, and I want to be there so so badly! But I know modern medicine is better than what I can do for him…”

Sabine listened to the quiet sobbing of the cat for a moment, before deciding she couldn’t take it anymore. Delicately, she scooped him up in her hand, and then delicately started to pet him.

“Not scared you’ll get the plague?” He snarked.

“Not a bit,” she returned, scratching between his ears.

Just like Adrien would do.

He nestled into her hands, and tried to sleep, knowing that time would pass quicker that way.

Nino’s attention was directed over to Mr. Agreste. No one had paid him much attention since Plagg chewed him out. But he looked like he was getting down to work with something.

He had a wooden ring with some light pink fabric stretched across it. In the basket next to him, he had a spool of rose gold thread that he was threading through the palette.

“Mr. Agreste…are you doing needlepoint?”

“Yes,” he said, undeterred. “I’m working on a present for Marinette.”

That was surprising.

“I didn’t know you could embroider.” Noted Alya. “Marinette gushed about your work all the time. I don’t think she knew either.”

“Well, you didn’t know I was Hawkmoth. I guess I’m just full of surprises.”

The weird tension in the room was destroyed as Tom busted out laughing, nearly falling out of his chair. “I-I’m sorry!” He managed out, still chuckling. “I was just not expecting that from you!”

“Like I said,” Gabriel spoke, eyes not even leaving his project. “Full of surprises.”

“Can I see what you’re doing?” Asked Alya.

“I’m afraid not. This is a surprise after all. I want her to be the first one to see it.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it.” Said Sabine, genuine.

Alya took her laptop out of her bag, resting it on the table in the corner. “Alright, I suppose it’s time I start my project as well.”

“What project, babe?” Asked Nino.

“I’m going to update the Ladyblog with news from the last few days. Nadja asked me to share what I can. Apparently, the world has gone stir crazy for news. I’ve even been contacted by the Associated Press.”

“That’s awesome!” Sabine cheered. “To be contacted by an international news group!”

Alya smiled softly.  “You know, when I first started the blog, I dreamed of being Ladybug’s best friend. I imagined following her and Chat and helping them so much that I got to be her friend. When I got to be Rena, it was the dream come true. She had asked me to join! And then…I found out she was Marinette. I laid awake one night just remembering all the crazy things I said about Ladybug to her face. The wild fan theories, demanding that she get with Chat Noir, the evidence I had for her identity. So many times, Marinette said ‘are you sure you should post that?’ and I completely ignored her. How was that being a friend?”

Nino sighed, “babe, you gotta stop beating yourself up. You didn’t know she was Ladybug. No one did. She didn’t expect you to act any different.”

Alya understood where he was coming from, and what he was trying to tell her, but it didn’t dissuade her doubts. “I’m going to draft a post. Then I’ll let you guys read it and tell me what you think.”

“Sounds reasonable,” stated Gabriel.

Alya got to work, clacking out a message.  

Sabine dug around in her purse for her phone charger, but found two items that had been placed on top. “Oh!” She said as she pulled out the handmade dolls.

“They were on Adrien’s bed.” Chloe explained. “I thought they might want them.”

“I’m sure that’ll make being separated for a little while easier on them.”

Plagg rose, not able to sleep with conversation in the room. His stomach rumbled, and he cursed it. “I’m hungry,” he stated.

Gabriel put his project to the side. “What do you eat?”

Plagg cast him a skeptical glance.

“I have the ring right now, so it’s my responsibility to feed you. Come on, let’s go down to the food court.”

Begrudgingly, Plagg followed, somehow feeling like there was more to this than appeared.

They were silent as they went down to the food court, following the same format he had taken with Nino. Though Nino had be easier to talk to, as he had been more willing to give him a second chance. This kwami wasn’t giving him an inch.

“Do you think it’s smart to be floating out here in the open?” Gabriel reprimanded.

“Bite me.”

“I’m just trying to—“

“Do nothing. I’m capable of finding food on my own. But I assume you had a reason to escort me. So I’ll let you tag along. But don’t talk to me until I eat. And don’t tell me what to do.”

Gabriel blinked at the ancient being. “Yes sir.”

It was the middle of the night, and all the kiosks were closed. But there were still vending machines. Plagg flitted between them, and found what he was looking for. “I want A3.”

“Popcorn?”

“An adequate substitute for my cheese.”

“What happened to being able to fend for yourself?” He asked as he took out his wallet.

“I can. But I know Adrien hates it when I take food without asking or paying.”

“Ah, I see.”

The cafeteria was devoid of people, which made things silent, save for the hum of the microwave and popping kernels.

Gabriel took a seat at a table by a window. The courtyard was alight with little lights illuminating sculptures and plants. A very peaceful, healing environment. A lovely garden that Marinette and Adrien might enjoy later.

A bag of popcorn flopped on the table. Plagg dove in, rustling the bag, and munching on his snack.

A few minutes passed before he came back out. “Okay. I’ve digested your apology and your reasoning. While I am still extremely angry for hurting Adrien, I am willing to listen to what you have to say.”

“I’m grateful.”

“I’ve concluded, that in the history of mankind, what you’ve done is evil and cruel. But not the worst I’ve seen. I’ve had wielders more evil than you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I had a guy who ate his own baby.” He shuddered. “I had forgotten about that.”

Gabriel blinked. “That’s awful!”

“Well, it was part of the culture back then. Anyways, now you know the bar is really low.”

“Good to know, I suppose…”

Plagg ate some more popcorn before Gabriel finally cleared his throat.

“First, I’d like to thank you for taking care of Adrien these last few years.”

Plagg scoffed. “It wouldn’t have been a problem if you had just done your job.”

“That’s what I mean.” Gabriel insisted. “I wasn’t in the right place to be a father. Even if I put the effort in to be with Adrien, I wouldn’t have been kind or affectionate to him.” Gabriel fisted his hands, looking Plagg in his ancient eyes. “I hated him.”

Plagg stared, wide eyed. “What? How could you say that?”

“I need to be honest with you. For Adrien’s sake.”

Plagg watched him, considering, but stayed silent.

“He looks just like Emilie. He takes after her more than he does me. After she was gone, it became more evident. His smile, his eyes, his laugh, it was like…looking a painful reminder that she was gone. And of course, he didn’t know that she could be saved. He just grieved, and he still mourned, but I watched him grow. He made friends, hung out with their families…And I couldn’t stand it. Why wasn’t he in misery like me? Why was he so optimistic? So hopeful? I thought all sorts of horrible things about him. Assuming he was forgetting her. I’m sure that was the depression telling me that.

“The butterfly miraculous gives me heightened empathy. I knew exactly what everyone around me was feeling. So even when he was schooled into professionalism, I could tell what he was feeling inside. And…it felt better to me to make him sad.”

“You know, some people might categorize that into sociopathy.”

“That would make sense. Am I awful then? A terrible father?” Plagg crunched on mouthful of popcorn as he considered it. “Yes, you are a terrible father. I wish you could have found this out about yourself earlier in life before you had Adrien. Do you think you were always like this? Tell me about your childhood.”

Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair. “When did this turn into a therapy session?”

“When I decided I needed to further analyze you before letting you near Adrien again. Now, go on.”

“Well…I suppose to some degree, I’ve always gained some satisfaction from people’s suffering. It…really culminated when my little brother died when we were kids. My parents were inconsolable, but I was just angry because they stopped paying attention to me. They never got over it.”

“You were never sad that your brother died?”

“I was, a little. I think I might have cried. But, not like my mother did.”

“Did you have a lot of friends?”

He screwed up his lips. “I think there were a lot of kids who liked me and thought I was their friend. But I didn’t really care to stay in contact with them as I got older.”

“Ever feel lonely?”

“Only after Emilie left.” He admitted. “She was the only one I felt like I was equal with. That’s why I was so desperate to get her back.”

“Ever have trouble with the law before Hawkmoth?”

Gabriel got quiet again. “People had trouble with the law because of me.”

Plagg narrowed his eyes. “I know you think you’re better than others. You’re cold, and you shirk familial obligations. You manipulate and threaten people to get them to do what you want. You justify your destructive behavior, no matter how hurtful it is to yourself or others. Does that sound right?”

Gabriel didn’t answer.

“But wait!” Said Nooroo, flying out of Gabriel’s jacket. “He’s been a lot better lately.”

Plagg blinked at the newcomer. “I forgot you were in there.”

“I was sleeping.”

“What do you mean he’s been better?”

“He was really accommodating to Marinette’s parents, and Alya and Nino! He’s thought about their safety and he’s been really nice to them!”

“Is it because it’s the right thing, or the smart thing?” Asked Plagg.

Gabriel winced. “It’s…what Adrien would have wanted.”

“Ah, I think I see a solution here.” Plagg finished the last few kernels. “You may be around Adrien, but you have to judge your behavior on what you think he would like. Which would be painful, considering you hate him.”

“I don’t hate him.” Gabriel clarified. “I did, at one point. But, as soon as his mask dissolved on the screen—“ Gabriel trembled violently, as if the memory had grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “It was like I had been punched in the heart. Everything just—hit me. Like…everything I had done had caused this. Every missed dinner, every short comment…”

“Guilt?”

“It felt like I was awake for the first time in my life. Like I was omniscient to all the things I had done. Keenly aware of every piece I had played. And that my actions weren’t as self contained as I thought. I can’t explain it.”

“You became aware that Adrien was a person.” Plagg stated. “A person just like you.”

Gabriel covered his mouth. His eyes wide with horror at the thought.

“You’ve got work to do, Gabriel. I’m not the one who’s going to fix you. You have to do it yourself, for Adrien’s sake.”

The man just nodded his head. He looked nauseous.

“What did you want to tell me? You brought me out here, after all.”

Gabriel couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe.

Plagg was right. Absolutely right. Adrien hadn’t been a son to him. He was a trophy, a pawn.

A toy.

And the realization of that evil was crippling.

But Plagg just sat at the table licking the salt and butter off the bag as the man had a complete meltdown in front of him.

“Don’t you think that was a little harsh?” Asked Nooroo.

“What? No. Why don’t you ask him what you were to him? See if he can lie and call you a friend.”

But Gabriel already had his hands around Nooroo, holding him gently. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

“You’re getting better.” Nooroo assured, petting his cheek. “I forgive you.”

It was still many minutes before Gabriel could speak. He patted his face with his handkerchief. “I’m sorry, I just…”

“Please don’t apologize for feeling emotion.” Plagg groaned. “I have to tell Adrien that all the time. Probably a trait he got from you.”

“Undoubtably.” Gabriel whispered. He swallowed hard, and took out his phone. “This is something I wanted to show you. I have to show you. It happened while you were dormant. I get no pleasure from showing you this, understand?”

Plagg was skeptical, but allowed him to turn the screen to him.

The footage was in green, showing a sickly and terrified Adrien. Plagg recoiled at the sight.

Then Gabriel pressed play.

“Plagg! Plagg!” Adrien screamed as he beat on the door. “Plagg!”

Gabriel fast forward, only for the scene to stay the same. Same scream, same pounding on the door, same begging, pleading.

“Plagg!”

Fast forward more.

“Plagg!”

The timestamp went up by minutes, and then hours.

“Plagg!”

On and on, never stopping.

“Plagg!”

Until his voice gave out.

Plagg just stared, eyes brimming with tears. “Why would you show me that? Why the hell would you show me that!?”

“I don’t know what his reaction will be to seeing you. But if it’s negative, I want you to know why. We’ll explain it to him. But you have to know…”

“You’re a sick and twisted man, Gabriel Agreste. I don’t envy you.”

And he floated off without another word.

—

Oh.

He was very tired.

Very tired and very in pain.

There was pressure on his chest, and strange voices all around.

He cracked open his eyes. A bright light.

Cold. Metal. Under his fingertips.

Paralyzed. He couldn’t move. But, maybe, if he could tilt his head forward just enough.

Oh.

That was a lot of blood.

A lot of blood.

His blood?

Yes. Quite.

And…bones. And tools. Sticking out of his chest. Whoa-oh.

“Oh shit. He’s awake. Dr. Boucher?”

His eyes shot to the speaker. A woman with red hair and reflective sunglasses.

Salo.

“Adrien? Adrien can you hear me?”

His eyes flicked to the other voice. Another Salo. And another next to her! A whole room of them!

“Adrien, you’re in surgery. Just relax.”

What were they doing!?

What was going on!?

Why was it so hard to breathe!?

“You’re going through anesthesia awareness. We’re going to get you back to sleep, okay?”

He couldn’t trust anything this woman-these women were saying.

Why did that one sound like a man?

Was that blood?!

But before he could panic anymore, a haze took him and he fell back to sleep.

[fanficimagery]

Nick of Time

#34 "I mean it's not like I missed you or anything."

Summary:  Darcy was visiting family when the dead started rising and making a meal out of the living. She joined forces with a group from Georgia who have all been through some shit, so she's quite relieved when her other friends find her in the nick of time.

Darcy has been with the Atlanta group since her parent's town had been evacuated- a nice man in a Winnebago having stopped behind their vehicle to give them a lift when the engine of her parent's car overheated. Dale had two other women with him, sisters Andrea and Amy, and it was a little more than cramped in his vehicle, but they made do.

They eventually joined forces with others parked on the side of the road when the government started dropping bombs on the most populated cities, and camped out near a quarry where the Dixon brothers mentioned it would be hard for the dead to follow. That first night, while sharing a tent with her parents, Darcy had wished she had listened to Stark and taken him up on the offer of a Stark Phone. She had trouble getting through to anyone on her cell and service ended up cutting out days later. Not even Heimdall answered her pleas for help.

She ended up losing her parents one night when the quarry was overrun with the dead, so she stuck with the original group when they decided to move on. Throughout the months they ended up losing people, gaining people, and they even found people thought gone forever. They moved from location to location, and ended up settling down in a prison they did their best to clear and clean out.

But eventually the living get greedy and people want things that don't belong to them, and Darcy and her friends have to fight for what they'd worked so hard to make their own.

Which is why when Darcy is knocked unconscious and then threatened by the one man who practically frothed at the mouth to have the prison his men who were too chicken shit to clean out themselves, she's not that surprised. She is, however, surprised when her hands are bound behind her back and then shoved to her knees next to Hershel and Michonne in the middle of the field outside of the prison fences. Her people are forced to watch as the Governor stands behind them with Michonne's katana in hand and he offers Rick a deal- the prison or his friends.

She knows Rick will do everything to keep the prison, especially since a sickness had laid out a bunch of their people and were still on the mend, so her heart breaks for the man as he struggles to offer the Governor half the prison if he let the three of them go. Even when threatened with a goddamn military tank that the Governor found, Rick will not walk away completely. Not when he has Carl and Judith's future to think about.

But the Governor is not right in the mind.

Everything happens in slow motion next. From the corner of her eye she sees the Governor pull back and raise Michonne's katana, ready to strike. Beth and Maggie scream out in horror, clinging to the fence as they fear for their father's life, and Michonne cringes. Darcy wants to close her eyes from witnessing what's bound to be brutal beheading, but before she can close her eyes she sees a familiar red glow envelop the blade and stop it inches from Hershel's neck.

"What the-" The Governor grumbles.

Darcy shakily laughs when realization sinks in, she pulling her shoulders back and smirking cruelly at the one-eyed man. "The cavalry here's, buddy. You're fucked."

And before he can ask her what she means, the red glow yanks the katana from his hands. They watch it land several feet away, the blade stuck in the Earth and standing tall. The red glow then envelops the Governor and everyone watches in shock as the man is flung to the side, away from his own people and closer to Rick. When a gun shot rings out, several people sigh in relief when the Governor doesn't get back up. But that one gunshot kick starts a fight- the Governor's people angry and looking for revenge.

Just as Darcy's people start trading gunfire with those who came with the Governor, a woman cloaked in a dark red jacket and black pants lands in front of Darcy, Hershel, and Michonne- a large red shield surrounding them and protecting them from the flying bullets.

The military tank fires one shell at the prison, clipping one of the corridors that Darcy knows is empty, but it's still sad to see their shelter damaged. A roar sounds which causes Michonne and Hershel to glance around in fear, but Darcy only laughs. The Hulk tears through the treeline, jumping on the military tank and tearing off it's cannon in a rage.

Michonne looks at Darcy, eyes wide. "So you weren't lying? You really do know the Avengers?"

She smirks. "Yep."

Wanda, who had saved their butts, glances over her shoulder as she half concentrates on holding the shield around them. "You okay?"

"What? No hi, Darcy? How've you been, old friend?" She huffs, struggling to stand up. Giving up, she falls on her butt and Wanda's lips twitch. "I mean it's not like I missed you or anything."

"Hello, Darcy."

"Well I'll be damned," Hershel suddenly muses, startling a snort from both Darcy and Michonne. "That's Captain America." And sure enough there's Steve, tossing his shield around and doing his best not kill. After all, everyone was still a civilian in his eyes.

The gun fire finally tapers off, the Hulk slinks off, Wanda's shield drops, and Darcy flinches when someone grabs her wrists to cut the rope. Looking over her shoulder, she beams when Natasha winks and then goes about cutting her friends free. Then rubbing at her wrists, Darcy stands and hugs her two long time friends. "I missed you guys so damn much," she sighs with happiness. "How'd you even find me?"

"Thor came down for a visit," Natasha says, nodding in greeting to Michonne and Hershel, then stepping back when Maggie and Beth practically tackle him in a hug.

Darcy, Wanda, Michonne, and Natasha step around them, only to be met by Steve, Rick, and Daryl. Rick and Daryl take the time to check over Darcy and Michonne, Darcy catching Daryl's gaze and smiling to let him know she was all right. Natasha clears her throat gently and when she glances at her, Darcy narrows her eyes at the all knowing glint in the red head's gaze.

"So what did Thor say? I've been calling Heimdall since this all started."

"Crying sometimes too," Michonne mumbles. "But only when she got really drunk."

"Hey!"

Daryl snorts as Steve and Rick try to smother their smiles. They fail.

"Heimdall heard," Steve then says, "but he couldn't let his King or Queen come down to an infected Midgard and risk the health of all of Asgard."

"But he came down anyway?"

"Apparently Heimdall got defensive with them when Jane asked how you were. She picked up on it and demanded to know what was going on. When he told them, Thor volunteered to briefly come down and pass on what he knew."

"And here you are."

"Here we are," Natasha says.

"And just in the nick of the time." Steve glances around, sheepishly waving and smiling at those gathering around. "What exactly did we interrupt?"

Rick leads them all back inside the prison fences when the dead start coming around, explaining the drama they'd been putting up with while surveying the damage the Governor's group inflicted.

When all is said and done, and the group don't bother hiding their amusement at Carol trying to mother a very sheepish Bruce, Steve gives them an offer from Tony Stark.

"I know you guys probably put your blood, sweat, and tears into this place," he says, glancing around the dreary prison, "but we have a place for you- for all of you- if you'd like."

Daryl scoffs, but Darcy nudges him and tosses a smile at Steve. "Don't mind him. Daryl's just not a fan of the big city."

"S'not that," he mumbles. "It's just- is it worth even goin' to? Didn't the government bomb all big cities?"

"We're technically upstate at the Avengers Facility," Steve tells them. "Stark Tower was one of the first places people ran to when things went crazy and it was destroyed in all the chaos. The facility we're at now is surrounded by a tall, high voltage electric steel fence on one side and water on the other. There's woods surrounding the front of the facility to hunt in and we're constantly flying out to scavenge other cities for whatever goods we can't make on our own."

"How is your fence being powered?" Rick frowns. "The electrical grids-"

"Are no problem for a man like Tony Stark," Darcy grins. "I'm sure the facility is all tricked out thanks to Iron Man himself." Steve nods, chuckling. Rick suddenly looks apprehensive and Darcy softens her grin. "I know you don't know them other than what you've seen on TV or read in history books, but they really are good people," she says. "And we put a lot of work into this prison, but lets face it. We don't have the means to keep patching this place or the fences up. Eventually it will crumble or the dead will tear down our fences and then what? We're stuck inside a tomb."

"The kids will love it," Natasha then says. "Hawkeye has his own family at the facility, so at least they'll have friends to play with."

As if needing reminding that he had a baby of his own, Judith chooses that moment to start getting fussy. Rick sighs. Beth and Carol do their best to soothe the baby, but she wants nothing. Not even her father or brother.

"May I?" Wanda asks, wiggling her fingers as a red wisp of magic dancing between them. "I can see what is wrong with her." Rick grimaces, but at Darcy's assuring smile he nods. Then flicking her wrist towards the baby, a thin red wisp enters Judith's mind. Wanda hums. "She is.. hungry, but the milk is not filling enough anymore."

"We have baby food at the facility," Steve tells him. "Coming with us will only make your lives that much more easier. But if you want to be kept busy, you can do that too. There's plenty to do and we can really use someone who knows what they're doing when planting crops."

Wanda snorts and Darcy cringes. "You let Hawkass tend to the crops, didn't you?"

"I thought he'd know what he was doing," Steve complains, "but he's terrible."

"I've managed a farm all my life," Hershel says. "The girls two," he then gestures to his daughters. "If you got animals that need tending to, I was a vet before all this."

There's clear relief in Steve's gaze and just like that the prison group is won over.

"This is going to be so much fun," Darcy practically squeals, packing up her and Daryl's cell. "You're going to like it there. Trust me."

Daryl's eyes roll, but he manages a small grin in return. "You're just excited about the AC."

"Uhh.. duh!. And the hot water. You just don't feel as clean when you shower with cold as balls water, my dude."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Mhmm." She kicks aside her duffel bag, she walking up to Daryl and wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. "I honestly think you will like it if you give it a chance. And like Steve said, there's woods to hunt in."

"Steve, huh? You're awfully comfy on that first name basis." His own arms wrap low around her waist.

Darcy chuckles, squeezing the back of his neck and nipping the underside of his chin. "Don't be like that. I've been friends with them for a long while now. It's never been, nor will it ever be, like that between me and Steve."

"You sure? He's every woman's dream man, ain't he?"

"Shut up, Dixon. You're the only guy I want in my pants." He scoffs and she goes up on her tip toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips. "And besides.. Captain Dorito is totally gay. I'm sure you'll meet his boyfriend back at the facility."

Boots thumping have the couple turning towards the cell door, Steve grinning at them as he passes by. "Buck's in the quinjet, actually. He's excited to meet the man that's got Darcy all moon-eyed."

"Fuck off, Old Timer!"

"I take back my earlier assessment," Daryl mumbles. "Captain America isn’t a tight ass like I thought."

"I heard that!"

Darcy snorts as Daryl's eyes widen slightly. "Yeahh.. did I forget to mention he's got the hearing of a goddamn dog?"

"Yes."

"My bad."

Daryl sighs and pinches her side before moving back. "Get movin', short stack. I need to see what type of guy is capable of keeping up with Captain America."

Grinning knowingly, she says, "You shouldn't be too surprised if you remember your history. It was eluded to in the history books."

He stops short, eyes narrowing. "Who?"

But she only shrugs in response. "You'll see."

[brieannakeogh]

Dog Days of Summer- Ch 6

Dog Days of Summer- Chris Evans X plus sized reader. Dog days of summer are usually defined as the hottest of the year, some define it as lazy days. This year ‘hottest’ has nothing to do with the outside temp. You meet Chris and Dodger Evans while taking your own dog to the park.

Previous Chapter / Master List

Warnings: Cursing and fluff, mild angst

It was about 10pm when your phone dinged. You had already changed into pjs when he left your apartment, and had just finished brushing your teeth when it went off.

“Tonight was fun. Thank you for cooking and having me over for dinner. I was thinking maybe we could take the dogs back to the park tomorrow. It’s been a few days since we saw our friend Ron.”

“It was a very pleasant evening. I had three very handsome good boys in my apartment all night. My neighbors are all going to be jealous. The park sounds great and I think Ron has been very happy we’ve stayed away. Also thanking you for shopping with me. If I had known dinner was going to be a regular thing, I would have included you in more meal planning. We’re going to have to go again soon since it won’t stretch as long with the two of us.”

“I hope you don’t feel obligated, we don’t have to do that. I can also pay for half the groceries too.”

You didn’t see it as an obligation at all, just another way to spend time with him. The fact that he seemed a little insecure himself, endeared him to you even more.

“I actually really like the idea and don’t worry about the money. I’ll get it out of you in slave labor, for toting all those bags, and in gas for using your car.” You were now properly in bed, Popcorn laying at your feet, with the light off.

“Lol, fair enough. I’ve got a few reps I need to do before I hit the sack, if I’m going to hold all the grocery bags.”

“You’re going to work out this late at night? I’m already in bed, lights off, ready for sleep.” You can’t say he wasn’t dedicated.

“I could counter it’s a little early to be going to bed. Let me guess you wear feety pajamas to bed?”

Was he indirectly asking what you were wearing? Your thoughts went directly into dirty territory, but you were trying to fight it. “Don’t say it, don’t say it.” You mumbled to yourself as you typed in a reply. Of course you don’t listen to yourself and text him back with a flirty response.

“Feety pjs are good for lounging, but I don’t like to be restricted when I sleep. Clothing tangles too much when I toss and turn.” Which was true, nude sleeping was always the best. “I had planned to read for a bit before going to sleep as well. I need to...let’s say, relax, after that kiss.” Your eyes widened and you bolted upright after you reread what you sent. While you were a much better and braver flirt over text and chat than you ever were in real life, your heart pounded wondering if you had gone too far, especially after he took longer to respond. Almost two minutes had passed before you see the three little dots from where he was typing again.

“I see a cold shower in my future. Probably multiple this week.”  You sigh in relief and lay back down slowly. “I’ll let you go...relax and if you ever need help with that, you have my number. Goodnight and sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight.” You reply simply ignoring his offer of help comment, tempted to text him back right then, but you knew it wasn’t the time. He had you so worked up, that it didn’t take long for you to be able to cum and relaxed enough to sleep. Your dreams full of blue eyes and a ruddy brown beard.

The next morning you expected to wake up groggy, but giddy excitement from everything that happened yesterday still flowed through your veins. So much for taking it slow.

Your phone already had a message from Chris, telling you a time to meet him at the park and then after you hadn’t responded, teasing you for sleeping in so late. Rolling your eyes as it’s still before 11am, you shoot him a quick text back confirming the time.

Getting yourself and Popcorn ready for the day you head out in time to meet Chris at the dog park. You see him sitting on what you have dubbed in your head as ‘our’ bench and walk over to him. He’s gone casual in his backwards baseball cap, sunglasses and sweatpants. The hoodie he’s wearing looks super soft too. Spotting you as you get nearer, he goes to stand, but you wave him back down as you unhook Popcorn and sit beside him, leaning into his side.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” He answers back.

“Fancy meeting you here.” You smirk. “Where’s the pupper? I was expecting kisses.”

“He’s found another playmate.” Chris points to the other side of the park where Dodger is chasing a black and tan dog around playfully. “But I can volunteer my services for kisses if ya like. Guaranteed less slobber.” He smiles, eyebrow arched.

You’re surprised and look around at the other people in the park. “I mean, I don’t mind but don’t you worry someone will…” He cuts you off with a quick chase kiss to the mouth, forehead and cheek.

“See no one noticed, and even if they did fuck ‘em.” He tells you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, and you find you are quite content to just lay your head back into his arm and watch the dogs play. Well dog play, because like usual Popcorn is lying near the bench asleep.

The two of you fall into small talk. Typical things like the weather and the show you had watched the night before, which quickly turns into politics and heavier topics somehow. Chris is pleasantly surprised you share a lot of his views and the ones where you differ are not deal breakers for either of you.

You love watching the passion in his eyes as he talks about the different subjects, much more so then when the topics were light and fluffy. He was ranting about climate change and Biff when you couldn’t help but to let out a giggle.

“What?” He asks with a soft smile.

“Nothing, I just really like this. I’ve just never gotten into this heavy of a conversation after, what? This is technically our second date right? Does yesterday count as a date since it morphed halfway through?”

“I would qualify it as a second date. You knew my intention when you invited me over for dinner, plus you changed and straightened up.”

“Caught that did you?”

“Again, were you trying to be subtle?” You laugh and shake your head. “Also isn’t it better to go ahead and get deal breakers out of the way. I mean we aren’t getting any younger and it would suck if we liked each other a lot and than hit a wall.”

“Ok, shoot.”

“Let’s see….of course you would have to be ok with the actor, famous thing. I won’t want to go officially public until I’m sure. I don’t want to share my private life in front of an audience.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me. The red carpet seems stressful.” He smirks a little at that.

“Also permanent residence here in Boston, and kids. I’ll want those.”

You nod at the Boston, but pause at the kids. This you were iffy on. “I don’t want kids right now, but maybe if I find the right guy, in a few years.” You look up to him and he doesn’t seem bothered by that.

“That’s understandable. You want a little time as a couple before kids.” You nod at him. “Must love dogs and Disney.” Which you roll your eyes at. He’s seen your Disney collection and the dogs are why you are there in the first place. “What about you?”

“Hmmm well, the away on set all the time will be hard, but I’ve dated workaholics before. Can people visit?”

“Depends and sometimes I don’t have a lot of free time when filming.”

“I think it’s manageable. I’m pretty flexible, just the obvious things. Ya know like cheating.” He nudged you in the side to be more serious. “I don’t know, I can’t think of any. I mostly just don’t want to be treated like shit and taken for granted. Which is why the long away periods worries me. Not about you but that my insecurities will fester and tell me why the hell would you want to date me? Then you don’t answer a text and I’ll freak out which will make you mad and upset because you didn’t do anything wrong, you were just working.” Saying all of that quickly in in one breath, you huffed out and relaxed your shoulders.

“Wow, that got real, and dark.”

You roll towards him, putting an arm around his waist and your forehead on his chest. “I warned you I was crazy.” He snort laughs. “No, I’m just thinking extremes. It’ll probably be fine.”

Chris’s hand rubs circles on your lower back. “You know I have to make out with people and pretend to have sex too right?” His voice is very serious like that’s been a problem in the past.

You sit up and look at him in the eye. “Uhhh I’ve watched your movies before...I know how acting works.” The confusion in your voice evident.

“It’s just been a problem in the past when I’ve dated someone not in the industry.”

“That won’t be a problem. It’s a job you’re working, that doesn’t count as cheating and I’m not the jealous type. Honestly, how do you think my ex-fiance got away with it so long? I knew it was just him and his secretary at work all night alone together but I believed him when he said he was working. I’m stupidly trusting.”

“Optimistic is what you are.”

“Optimistic huh? I like that. So no deal breakers found. Does that mean we can go eat lunch, I’m starving.”

He chuckles and calls Dodger back. At the little dog friendly bistro the hostess asks how many, which Chris confirms two, but you interrupt asking if Ron is working.

“What are you doing?” Chris whispers in your ear and you wave him off.

“It looks like he is and he has a table open on the patio if you prefer to be seated in his section?”

An evil grin comes on your face as you tell her “That would be lovely.” Chris shaking his head at you the whole time.

The hostess seats you with a couple of menus and Chris just keeps looking at you with a “I can’t believe you are doing this again.” look on his face as he tries to keep from laughing.

You watch as Ron steps up to your table, not really looking at either of you, as he goes into his spiel on welcoming to the restaurant and what specials there are.

He looks up with a polite smile on his face and you see the look die in his eyes as he recognizes the two of you, unconsciously taking a step back. Chris is hiding his face in his menu, but you can see the shaking of his shoulders.

“Hiya Ron! Long time no see. How’s life been treating ya?” The excitement in your voice breaks an audible snicker from Chris.

“Just fine ma’am. What can I get you to drink?” Ron is trying to be as professional as possible and you have to admire him for that.

“I think waters all around?” You look to Chris who nods, not able to say anything. “Don’t forget thing one and thing two.” You point to the dogs.

Ron grips his pen a little tighter. “It was separate checks correct?”

You look him right in the eye without blinking. “No Ron, not anymore.” And you smirk.

Ron huffs out an irritated sigh and turns on his heel to leave.

Laughter from across the table makes you break into a fit of your own giggles.

“Was that why you wanted Ron’s section?”

“He looked down his nose at me last time, so I wanted show him he shouldn’t judge people. I know it’s a little on the petty side but just let me have my fun.”

“Hey you have as much fun as you want, but you’re paying for the tip. I’m not going to be trying to judge how much extra to give based on how much of an annoyance you were to him. We’re still in the ‘everything is endearing and cute’ stage.”

“So ‘everything is endearing and cute’, you say? I don’t think I’ve heard of that stage. Can you give me an example, use it in a sentence?”

A sly smile forms on his face that has you worried. “For example, that cute little screech you do when I leave.”

Your face heats up instantly. “You heard that huh?”

“The whole floor heard it, but it was cute.”

“Aww you think I’m cute?” Ron stops by the table to drop off water. “Ron did you hear that? He thinks I’m cute.”

“That you were acting cute.” Chris corrected.

“Ron we’ve known each other a while now. Do you think I act cute or just am cute?”

Ron blinks down at you and turns his head to Chris. “Sir sincerely good luck to you and you have my deepest sympathies.” He turns on his heel and walks away from the table without looking back at you.

“Wait? Was that a joke? Did Ron actually make a joke?” You asked Chris excitedly.

“I’m am now certain you have broken Ron.” Chris nods solemnly.

You both crack up at that and then actually read the menu instead of pointing at something random. Leaving Ron alone for the rest of lunch, you still provide him with generous tip at at the end and you think you see a smirk when he comes to pick it up.

The short walk back to your apartment is nice. Conversation flows naturally and you don’t feel as if you need to fill up all the space with talking. The awkwardness you use to feel having the gorgeous man keep pace beside you has all but dissipated. You still find it strange, but his presence puts you at ease. You’re starting to think that maybe this could work, although you didn’t know for sure until you had to go months apart. That was the real test.

The two of you step out of the elevator and into the hall, the dogs in tow. Another plan of watching tv to pass the time before dinner was already in the works. Chris wanted to finish the show you were watching and you were happy to oblige.

Sticking the key in the lock, it turns but without the telltale click when it unlocks. Your brow furrows and you pause with your hand on the doorknob.

“Everything alright?” Chris asks from behind you.

“The door wasn’t locked. I could have sworn I locked it when I left.” His face mimics yours with a frown.

“Step back and take the dogs. Let me go in first just to check.” You really want to argue but you’re scared and he gives you hard look when he hands you the leashes to not argue. He tries to be quiet as he slowly opens the door. You can’t help but to try to peek in around him but his wide shoulders don’t leave much room around the doorway. After he steps inside, he pulls the door to but not completely shut, keeping you on the other side in the hallway.

“Who the fuck are you?!” You hear someone who is definitely not Chris, shout from the apartment. You knew that voice, you had fucked that voice. No longer sitting on the sidelines you barged in and see Matt standing in the living room, arms crossed like he had just caught an intruder.

“I could ask the same buddy.” Chris responded with very similar pose, although with a couple more inches, height and width, on Matt. Chris was much more intimidating.

“Chris it’s fine.” You come up behind him with a hand to his lower back, and he looks down at you confused. “Well it’s not fine but I’ll handle it.” You shove the leashes into his hands as you move between them. “Chris this is my asshole Matt. Asshole this is Chris.” Chris’ eyes flash with recognition and he takes a look at the ex-fiance, judging him on all levels. “Now that we are all caught up, what the fuck Matt? You can’t just let yourself in. You don’t live here anymore and you said you gave me all your keys.”

“I’m still paying for the place. I can stop by if I want to.”

“No, no you can’t, that was the agreement. You moved out and moved in with your side bitch, and as an apology for making me quit my job and move to Boston, you paid rent up for this place until I could find a job.” You were so angry, you were boiling. You didn’t shout, your voice just got cold and deeper as your rage rolled off of you. Matt had never been smart about telling your moods and today was no exception. Chris on the other hand, stepped a little closer, towering at your back to add even more menace to your words, or possible hold you back when you launched yourself at him. It was hard to tell.

Matt scoffs. “Don’t give me that. Who’s this fucker? You’re telling me you weren’t fucking him on the side while we were together?”

“That’s exactly what I’m say, not that you have any right to know. What are you even doing here Matt?” You were suddenly tired and just ready to get this man out of your apartment so you could settle on the couch with Chris. Matt’s eyes shift from you to Chris and then glance at the bedroom. “Oh my god! You can’t be serious!” This you did shout. “You wanted to stay here? Did she kick you out already?” Matt at least had the decency to look ashamed this time, before he went into begging mode.

“Come on Marshmallow, we had good times right? It’s been miserable without you.” Chris’s hand on your shoulder tightened when your ex tried to win you back with nonsense. The audacity he had to pull this stunt in front of who was obviously your new boyfriend, and much bigger than he is, was ludicrous. Uncrossing your arms from your chest, you place a hand over Chris’s to give him a bit of comfort, not that he even needed it. He knew how you felt about the man in front of you, that was digging himself deeper with each word he spoke.

“Matt, please leave. You cheated on me, we’re done.” You cut him off as he was telling you what a ‘big mistake he made was’, but you couldn’t care less. It was very simple to you. “Hand Chris your keys on the way out, he needs one anyway. This will save us a trip.”

The nice guy act that Matt had been putting on melted in front of you. “You can’t honestly fucking expect me to believe you’re dating this guy?! He’s probably just the dog walker. You couldn’t get someone like this to fuck you unless you were paying them. That’s exactly what you’re doing isn’t it! Yeah you had to get yourself a fucking escort since nobody would touch you!” Matt sneers at you.

Chris was right to have come up closer, because you did in fact attempt to launch yourself at him, more in his defense than your own. Even with his muscles he had a hard time containing you, especially when you threw your weight into it. What got you to calm down was Chris’s loud booming voice calling your name. It sounded just like Captain America was disappointed in you.

“Ok, I’m done staying out of it. Matt or whatever the fuck your name is, hand over the keys. If I ever find out that you were in my girlfriend’s house again, without her permission, I will have a reason to use the myriad of lawyers I keep on retainer.” He turns to you and hands you the leashes to the dogs, who are both looking scared after being witness to the fight. “Take the dogs into your bedroom and calm them down, while I escort him out and down to the lobby.” He runs a finger over your cheek and you realize a stray tear had run down. All you can do is nod and you go around to the back of the apartment to the bedroom. You can hear some muffled talking before the front door closes again.

“Shhh, it’s ok guys, it’s all over now.” Kneeling on the floor you pick up Popcorn and wrap an arm around Dodgers neck, burying your face into the fur on his back.

After what could have been either a few minutes or 15, time wasn’t moving correctly in your world, the door creaks open with Chris leaning on the doorway. He sees you in the floor, arms wrapped around both dogs and his eyes soften. “Did he give you the key?” You ask him. He holds it by the key ring and lets it dangle. “That’s good. I’m really sorry about that. I never thought that he would ever show up here again. I hadn’t prepared for it.”

He sighs and squats down beside you, a hand on your head running it over your hair. “We did move a little fast as well. It was just such a rare opportunity, for both of us, where we didn’t have other things so we could spend as much time as we wanted together. I was enjoying it.”

“Me too.” You bite your lip, debating whether or not you wanted to ask what was on your mind. “Did he say anything else?”

Chris’ eyes flashed for a moment and he took his hand from you. “If you want to take him back just tell me now. I can’t say I understand, but I know you have a history.”

“What?” You were thoroughly confused until it clicked. He thought you were asking if he said anything more about taking you back. “Fuck no I don’t want him back. I just wanted to make sure he didn’t make any threats to you or the dogs or anything. Him being in here and letting himself in freaked me out. What if he has another key?” You were starting to panic and he could hear it in your voice. He sat beside you in the floor and pulled you to him.

“I don’t think he does, although I’m going to have to let my manager know. He finally recognized me when we got to the lobby. He seemed more scared when he figured it out, which was weird. I’m still going to have to keep an eye on it to make sure he doesn’t try to cash the story into the tabloids.”

“Uggg this was not what I wanted. This is your vacation time, you don’t need to be more stressed.” You bang your forehead into his chest, a soft ‘ow’ from him stops you.

“Let’s just forget about it for now and go relax on the couch like we’d planned. After we’ve both calmed down than we can talk.”

It was that word, talk, that dreaded word that got your heart racing again. So much for relaxing tonight.

Next Chapter

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