#thank you all for suggestions sorry it is almost 60 songs long now. but it IS very fun to draw to | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

silverfootstepswrites · 5 years ago

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Lullaby [100%]

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Read Equinox here and come back!

_________

On the day Ami turned 16, she didn’t request a big party or a car.

“Are you sure?” asked Sakura for what felt like the millionth time. She glanced up at the window. Tobirama sat at the controls, his elbow leaning on the intercom button as he listened in. Ami fiddled with the strap of the electric guitar. It had a shiny seafoam green body. She ran her fingers down the maple fingerboard.

“Yeah! This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” insisted Ami, looking up. Her eyes glittered with excitement.

“I’ve always wanted to play a song you wrote for me, Mom,” Ami added. She gave the strings a strum in an easy G-chord. The callouses on the pads of her fingers had toughened them into the perfect tools for plucking the steel strings. And her fingers were strong from years of practicing on almost any musical instrument she could get her hands on.

“Don’t thank me. Daddy wrote the riff for this,” Sakura reminded her, sitting down behind the drums. She pulled her headphones up from her neck and set them over her ears.

“Thank you, Daddy. I love you!” Ami chirruped, blowing a kiss toward the window. Tobirama didn’t return the gesture, but a smile curled his mouth.

“Happy birthday, Angel,” he said in a quiet voice before he pushed play on the backing track.

_________

Everyone in Old Pines knew about the Siren nest right on the border with the forest. It also happened to be the town’s second pack of werewolves. Technically. It was only one wolf and a half, but according to Kiba, that was enough to count.

Ami wrinkled her nose whenever Kiba and Mari showed up on the back porch covered in mud and whatever else they had picked up in the forest. Sometimes she clicked her tongue as she wiped the remaining deer blood off Mari’s face. At least they had stopped bringing back dead rabbits and raccoons.

“Did you have fun?” she asked.

“Yeah! Pop broke the deer’s neck in, like, 5 seconds!” Mari chirruped.

“Well that’s cool,” answered Ami. A smile crossing her face as her little sister tried to throw her arms around her waist. She held up a finger, reminding Mari of the filth covering her clothes. Mari whined a little but stood still.

“Sorry, Peanut. I know you don’t like seeing blood,” Kiba apologized as he pulled his shirt over his head. There were a few scrapes on his back, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

“That’s alright, Pop. It’s more the mud than the blood, honestly,” Ami replied. And then she smiled when Kiba mussed her hair.

“Heads up!” Sakura called.

Ami jumped out of the way just as cold water spurted out of the hose. Mari and Kiba yelped in unison. As they squirmed, Tobirama’s cool voice warned them:

“If you run from this, you’re not walking in that house.”

They froze. Turned to stare at each other. And then Kiba’s head drooped. They submitted to the torment of the icy water on their hair and bodies. When Itachi approached to shampoo their hair, Kiba’s head snapped up. He threw his arms around him, pulling him into the cold water.

“STOP! HELP!” Itachi yelped, sputtering against the water. Mari wrapped her arms around him, too.

“Sakura! Turn off the water!” he pleaded.

Sakura, hand on her hip, aimed the hose to the side for a bit. She considered the three of them. Sopping on the back porch. Itachi’s hair falling into his face, making him look like a wet dog. She turned her head to look at Tobirama, who stood by the garden faucet connecting the hose to the house, smirking.

Kakashi appeared in the doorway, a bowl of cereal in one hand. A spoon in the other.

“Kakashi! Make them stop!” Itachi begged.

Kakashi took in the scene, like a good cop was wont to do. And then he took a big bite of cereal. Crunching the pieces loudly between his molars.

“Not my jurisdiction,” he decided.

Sakura aimed the hose back at them and listened to all three of them howl.

Itachi had his revenge later when he grabbed Sakura by the waist as they walked into the house. His frozen hands pressing to her stomach and back as she shrieked with laughter.

Dinner, as usual, was crowded and noisy. With so many people laughing and chewing, it was impossible for the house to stay quiet. But as they began to clear the table and throw out the garbage, Ami tugged on the edge of Kiba’s shirt. He paused mid-step, hands heavy with plates. Ami stared back at him, her big green eyes blinking slowly at him.

“Babe?” he called over his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Ami and I’ll do the dishes,” Kiba offered. Sakura withdrew her hands from the soapy water. She took Itachi by the elbow and murmured something into his ear. He wiped his hands dry too before he put them on Mari’s shoulders.

“Show me that math homework, Mari. Let’s get that out of the way,” he announced. Groaning, Mari still pulled him up the stairs to where she had dropped her backpack right after school.

Sakura’s eyes met Kakashi’s.

“Let’s go walk the dogs,” he suggested.

At those words, the beagle sitting by the front door bolted to his feet. Following him was a brown and white mutt that yapped as it also ran to the door.

It smelled like autumn when they stepped out of the house. Sakura’s left hand slipped into Tobirama’s as they descended the wooden steps. And then she took Kakashi’s with her right.

“What do you think that’s about?” Sakura wondered as they headed down the sidewalk. The dogs’ panting filled the night air. Sakura could smell the hint of fairy magic as they passed behind the cafe. The lights in the windows were dark. Ino had closed up and gone home for the night by now, of course.

“You think she fought with a friend? The girls usually go to Kiba for things like that,” Kakashi suggested. Sakura wrinkled her nose as she considered that.

“Do you think she’s in trouble and didn’t want us to know?” Tobirama then said.

Sakura snorted at that. “Then why would she go to Kiba? She’d run right to Daddy.” She nudged him with her elbow. And Tobirama looked bewildered.

“Me?”

Kakashi leaned forward to level Tobirama with a knowing look. “Softie.”

“Like a big teddy bear,” snickered Sakura. And when Tobirama’s face scrunched into a scowl, she leaned closer with a smile. “I love it,” she added.

The answer to their question came later that night. Long after Mari and Ami had gone to bed. And after the dogs had fallen asleep too. Even after Kakashi had come home from his final check around the small town.

Kiba sat at the kitchen table, staring down into his beer. Swirling the amber drink around and around as he seemed to think very carefully about something.

“What’s on your mind?” prompted Sakura, settling in the seat beside him, her arms draping across his shoulders. He, of course, wasn’t even a little startled. She could never sneak up on him- not with his insane sense of hearing and smell.

“Our big girl’s got a lot on her mind, apparently,” he sighed.

“School?” guessed Itachi, sitting across from him. Tobirama settled next to Itachi, his arm resting on the back of the chair.

“Murder?” wondered Sakura, thinking back on her experiences as a teenager.

“School, actually. Well, sorta. College,” Kiba replied.

“College already?” marveled Itachi. And then he paused to think before he amended, “Actually, no. She’s a sophomore already. That makes sense.”

“What about college?” Sakura prompted. Because if this was just a talk about the cost of tuition, she knew Kiba wouldn’t look so miserable. Between all their salaries (and the royalties she and Tobirama earned from their music), they were more than prepared to send both their daughters to private universities (if that was what they wanted, of course).

“I’m just... well.... aw, jeez, Kakashi, maybe you should sit,” Kiba fumbled through the words, rubbing the back of his neck.

“....Alright,” Kakashi agreed. He glanced around the kitchen, which, someone usually criticized of being too small for their family at least once a week. Sakura got out of her chair to let him sit instead. She settled in his lap, feeling his arms wrap around her waist.

“So what’s up, Kiba?” Sakura urged him.

Kiba heaved a sigh that sounded odd coming from him. Because Kiba was all smiles and corny jokes. Even the girls agreed that he was the most fun, even though they tried to pretend that they were too old for the occasional fart joke.

“Well, so... Ami’s been looking at schools. And she’s been worried about.... well... distance.”

No one pretended not to have understood.

Sakura felt Kakashi’s arms tighten a little. She placed her hand on top of his. Patting softly as she kept her eyes fixed on Kiba. Who looked guilty for having brought it up at all.

“She was saying how she’s been thinking of going to school on the west coast. But then she started talking about how not everyone could come visit or see her graduate.”

Itachi’s forehead wrinkled. “She’s thought ahead that much about it? All by herself? Why wouldn’t she talk to us about it first?”

“She probably didn’t want Kakashi to feel hurt. Or lonely,” Tobirama guessed.

“Did I say something to make her worry like that?” wondered Kakashi. Sakura patted his hand again.

“She’s a teenager. That’s why. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she assured him.

Over the years, Kakashi had worked hard to extend the reach of his territory. Each new mile he gained was a struggle. It took years and years of effort, pushing and straining against the magical threads that bound him to the cornerstone of the old church wrapped in ivy. He could freely wander the shores of the beach now. And he could venture deeper and deeper into the forest, matching Kiba’s strides with ease.

But even that progress could only take him so far.

Sakura patted his hand again. “Hey. Let’s make tomorrow family night. We’ll have dinner and then talk things out,” she suggested.

Kakashi rested his forehead on her back. She felt him nod against her shoulder blade and patted his hand a little harder.

Of course the talk with Ami went well the following day. She was such a sweet girl who had dreaded the thought of making her beloved Papa feel left out.

“But I don’t want you to be sad, Papa,” she insisted, tears in her eyes as she threw her arms around Kakashi’s middle. And he hugged her close, his hand rubbing up and down her back.

“I know, sweetheart. But you have to do what’s right for you. Not me,” he told her.

“I love you so much, Papa,” Ami mumbled in response.

Despite the tears, the night ended on a positive note. Ami was in a good enough mood that she graced everyone with a kiss on the cheek before she went to bed.

Sakura took a deep breath as she leaned on the arm of the sofa. She watched her oldest daughter disappear up the stairs.

“She’s such a good girl. I wonder who she takes after. Definitely not me,” Sakura remarked.

“True,” muttered Kiba. Snickering, he caught her foot when she aimed a kick at his stomach. And through their laughter, they exchanged a look. Because even as he sat there smiling, Kakashi looked sad. He might have fooled someone else- but definitely not his family.

“You alright, Kakashi?” Itachi asked.

Kakashi nodded a little too slowly. “Of course,” he replied.

He definitely wasn’t.

_________

A few nights later, something half-woke Sakura. The crickets trilled outside in a delicate chorus. As the sunrise drew closer, the blackness of the horizon began to glow. Softly at first, and then brighter. And that light diffused in through the window.

It was the swish of the comforter that pulled Sakura from her dreams.

“Wha?” she croaked, head rising from the indent in her pillow.

“It’s alright. I just heard a noise,” Kakashi whispered, rising on his elbow. He turned his head one way, then the other. Throwing his legs off the side of the bed, he sniffed at the air.

Sakura began to sit up too. Tobirama’s arm slipped off of her, catching in the crook of her elbow. He didn’t stir.

“Don’t go alone. Maybe Kiba should go with you,” she suggested. But she stopped when Kakashi turned back to her, his eyes gleaming a little too brightly in the almost-morning.

“I’ll be careful,” Kakashi assured her. And when she continued to stare at him, he added, “And I’ll pick up coffee on the way back.”

Only when she nodded did Kakashi lean in to kiss her forehead. And then her pout before he slipped out of bed. Running a hand through his rumpled hair, Kakashi crept through the silent house. As he descended the stairs, he spotted Kiba and Mari both in their wolf forms, sprawled out on the back porch. Mari’s hind legs twitched a little as she dreamt.

And then there was the noise again.

Kakashi seamlessly transitioned into other form as he left the house. Black wisps of smoke flickering from the end of his tail as he descended the wooden steps. Barely displacing the gravel path with his paws. And once he hit the street, he broke into a run. Pulled by a faint voice that was almost familiar.

He followed the sounds down the streets, turning corners on a path that he knew by heart. And in the blink of an eye, he found himself standing in front of the old, white church. The tower glowing softly in the light of the rising sun.

“Papa.”

Kakashi turned. A little golden-brown dog sat in the grass. Tail wagging. A bright red kerchief was tied around its neck.

“Biscuit?”

“Papa,” the dog said again. His mouth moving perfectly with the sounds.

Biscuit had lived a long, healthy life. And while the dogs that Kakashi adopted tended to live longer than normal, old age eventually caught up with each of them. Biscuit had fallen asleep one night and hadn’t woken up again. And like all of the other dogs Kakashi had taken in over the years, he was laid to rest in the graveyard of the church.

So it was strange that Biscuit stood in front of Kakashi now. Tail swishing back and forth, head cocking to one side.

“You made it, Papa,” Biscuit said.

“Uh.... I guess I did,” Kakashi replied, fazing back into his human form. Tail wagging harder now, Biscuit trotted up to him. He nuzzled against Kakashi’s palm. And Kakashi responded by patting his neck, hand ruffling through the thick golden fur.

“Oh, wow. I.... I really missed you, bud,” Kakashi then said.

“I know,” Biscuit answered. And if a dog could smile, that was what Biscuit was doing.

After a while of petting Biscuit, Kakashi spoke again.

“So... this just a nice visit... or...?” Kakashi trailed off. Unsure of what was even going on. Biscuit tilted his head to the other side.

“You’ve been feeling sad, Papa. So we decided to help.” As Biscuit spoke, ethereal threads of silver rose from the soil. They wove together into the shapes of more paws and wagging tails. They came in all shapes and sizes. Short and squat. Tall and skinny. And slowly, those silver threads condensed, turning black and gold and white. Turning into patches of white and dun on glossy fur.

Bull snuffled at him. Pakkun shook himself before he peered up with big eyes. Shiba was there, too. And all of the other dogs he had taken in over the years. Stretching back and back all the way until the very beginning. To the first stray mutt he had taken in off the street.

“I don’t understand,” Kakashi whispered. He turned his head back toward Biscuit when he felt a lick on his hand.

“It’s okay, Papa,” Biscuit told him. “Since you took care of us, we’ll take care of the town from now on. You can go.” Behind him, Bull gave a sage nod of his wrinkly head.

“Go where?”

“Anywhere,” Biscuit replied. And then he disappeared into silver threads that dissolved into the air. The rest of the dogs followed one by one. Unraveling and twisting into nothingness. Pakkun was the last to go. The pug stared up at him with big, wet eyes.

“Take good care of Mama,” Pakkun requested. And before Kakashi could promise him that he would, the dog was gone.

Sakura woke for a second time a little while later when she felt Kakashi’s hand on her shoulder. Her eyes opened right away.

“Is everything alright?” she demanded.

And this time, Tobirama woke up too. Squinting angrily at the morning light like he always did.

“I need to show you something,” Kakashi blurted out. And the excitement in his face was impossible to argue with. Sakura looked over her shoulder at Tobirama. He glared back at her. The anger faded when she bent over and planted a kiss on his lips. He let out a sigh before he sat up, running a hand through his tangled hair.

“I’m not driving,” he grumbled as he got out of bed.

It took a few minutes to wake everyone and load them into the minivan.

“Where are we going?” Itachi asked as he gripped the steering wheel. He wore his sunglasses, scowling against the morning sunlight. Kakashi stood next to the window, his hand resting on top of the car.

“Toward the highway,” Kakashi instructed. And then he slipped into the shape of a smoky black dog and took off down the street.

The minivan crackled down the asphalt, chasing after the dark shape that cut across town. When they reached the town’s limits, Itachi slowed the car. He could see the black dog sitting beside the wooden sign that read ‘Old Pines’ in dark green letters. Sakura rolled the window down and stuck her head out of the car.

“What’re we doing out here?” Ami wondered, craning her head to peer out the window. Mari leaned against her shoulder, not quite asleep but not quite awake either.

As the car rolled to a stop next to the sign, Kakashi got to his feet. He gave a pointed look toward the car before he slowly began taking steps past the sign. He crossed over the border of the town. Then took another step. Then another.

“Kakashi, what are-” Sakura interrupted herself with a gasp. Her hands flying to her mouth.

“No way,” Kiba breathed.

One by one, the members of their family piled out of the car. Sakura leaned against Kiba’s side as she watched Kakashi take off in a run down the empty road. Until he was just a black blob against the asphalt. Itachi leaned his elbow on Sakura’s other shoulder. After a minute, Kakashi began running back toward them.

“Papa! It’s a miracle!” Mari exclaimed as she ran to greet him. She threw her arms around his neck. And, laughing, Ami threw her arms around him too. Kakashi shifted back into his human form, an arm around each of his daughters as he squeezed them tight.

“I’m so happy for you, Papa,” Ami said.

“Thank you,” he said. And it sounded like he was choking back tears.

“SHERIFF!” Kiba bellowed. Their eyes popped open as he grabbed them and lifted all three of them off the ground. Sakura wormed her way inside the cluster. The girls giggled as her hair tickled their noses.

“Where should we go?” Kiba wondered. Because there had been so many times when they had seen or done things and wished that Kakashi could see them too.

“Anywhere,” laughed Sakura in response.

“I suggest somewhere tropical because you seriously need a tan, Kakashi,” remarked Itachi, leaning on the hood of the minivan.

“Hidan’s shooting a music video in Aruba. We could crash it,” suggested Tobirama, looking over an email on his phone.

Ami’s head popped up from somewhere under Kiba’s arm. “Really? Can we do that, Daddy?” she inquired, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Of course. I’m the boss,” Tobirama scoffed. He turned away to make a phone call. Holding it away from his ear in anticipation of Hidan’s adamant protest.

_________

As the years passed, the town of Old Pines changed very little. Sometimes people thought they heard dogs barking in the distance more often than they used to. But the smell of fairy magic, sweet and warm, still hung in the air near the little cafe on the corner. And when summer retreated, the leaves on the trees began to turn orange and gold, lighting up the town in bright shades.

The once small cabin on the edge of town had grown into something that now fit such a large family. Little crystals of peridot hung from the curtain rods, tinkling against each other whenever someone walked past. The mantelpiece above the fireplace was always crowded with picture frames of various shapes and sizes- all the members of their big family squeezed together to fit into each shot.

What had changed were the souvenirs that had begun to overtake the house. Gaudy magnets appeared on the fridge. Mysterious wood carvings sat on the bookshelves. Useless and shiny bits that scattered the house to remind its occupants of distant lands.

“Don’t forget flip-flops. Hotel floors are not to be trusted.”

“Is anyone gonna check a bag? I need to take my hairspray.”

“Yeah, squeeze it in mine. Can I put my sneakers in yours then?”

“Has anyone seen my sweater? The blue one with stripes. I can’t find it anywhe- Nevermind. Thank you, Baba!”

The entire house overflowed with the sounds of zippers and people running back and forth between rooms. Tobirama was the only one who sat still. He had finished packing his suitcase two days ago. It sat in the corner of his room with his passport resting on top.

“Are you sure you’re alright to travel?” he queried for the millionth time. He watched Sakura sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat wrestling with a t-shirt, trying to fold it in the neat, trendy way that was all over the internet nowadays. Tobirama huffed. He got to his feet.

“Give me that,” he grumbled. Grabbing it out of her hands, he folded it into a perfect square. And then he went on to fold the rest of the shirts sitting on the bed.

“The doctor says I’m fine. Besides. We’ve been planning this trip since last year,” Sakura replied as she watched him.

“I moved stuff around on the itinerary so we won’t be walking around as much.”

They both started. When they looked up, they found Itachi in the doorway, his back against the doorjamb. He scrolled through his document on his tablet, which he had probably checked about a thousand times by now.

“Maybe we should rent a car,” Itachi then worried as he eyed Sakura.

“Absolutely not. Parking in Rome is a nightmare,” Sakura protested.

“Can’t drive in Europe. Don’t they all drive on the left?” Kiba piped up, his head appearing over Itachi’s shoulder. He squinted down at the tablet too.

“That’s just England,” replied Itachi. When Itachi snickered at him, Kiba knocked into the back of Itachi’s knee, making his leg buckle. Sakura stifled a snort into her fist.

“Pop?” a voice came from down the hall. Kiba twisted his head to yell back, “Yeah?”

“Is there room in your bag for my umbrella?”

“Think so. Go for it.”

“Kay. Thanks!”

Kiba then ducked under Itachi’s tablet to enter the room. Hands in the back pockets of his jeans, he plopped down on the bed beside Sakura. She had given up on packing as Tobirama seized the rest of her clothes and began placing them in her empty suitcase for her.

“Kiba, we need to have a serious talk,” Kakashi announced as he appeared in the doorway, Ami tucked under his arm. Itachi moved to the side so she could roll Kiba’s suitcase into the room.

Kiba arched an eyebrow. “About?”

“This,” Ami said before she opened his suitcase to reveal the contents within.

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. Tobirama let out a noise of exasperation.

“....You can’t be serious, Kiba,” Tobirama whispered. He sounded defeated.

“What?”

“I refuse to be seen with you if all you’re packing is flannel,” Itachi declared.

“That’s, like, all I own,” Kiba insisted.

“No, it’s not. You have plenty of nice shirts. I know. Because we buy them for you every year, Pop,” Mari piped up as she appeared in the doorway. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at his fashion choices.

“It’s my aesthetic!”

When everyone continued to glare, Kiba threw his hands up in the air. “Babe. Come on.”

Everyone’s stare turned to Sakura. She considered this as she rubbed her hand over the bump under her sweatshirt.

“Stop bullying him. He can wear what he wants,” Sakura decided.

Kiba’s face turned smug. “Thank you.”

“We can always photoshop him out of all our pictures later,” Sakura then added.

“Babe!”

“Aw, Mom. You’re such a savage,” Mari cackled. She crossed the room to slap Sakura a high five.

In the midst of all this chatter and laughter, the doorbell rang. Mari and Ami swiveled their heads to stare at each other.

“You get it.”

“No, you get it.”

“Can someone get the door, please!” Kakashi interrupted the squabbling. The girls exchanged one last look before they both hurried out of the room. Their footsteps stumbled down the stairs together, just slightly out of sync with each other. They giggled, probably as one elbowed the other. Everyone upstairs stayed quiet as they listened to the door open.

“Heya, pups! Excited for your trip?” Hana’s voice drifted upstairs.

As Itachi crouched to help Tobirama continue packing, Sakura closed her eyes.

She could remember what this house had felt like all those years ago. When she had first driven into this tiny town in the middle of the night. Her sedan crammed with her possessions. The inside of her head even more cluttered than her car. Back then, this house had just been another place to run away to. Quiet. Far from prying eyes.

She had never imagined living somewhere so noisy.

“Sakura?”

Her eyes opened. Kakashi was kneeling in front of her. A faint smile on his lips.

“Are you feeling okay?” His hand brushed against her cheek.

She had also never imagined living somewhere that felt so warm.

“Yeah. Everything’s alright,” she assured him. Even without trying, she found herself returning his smile.

#polysaku #equinox #lullaby #itasaku #tobisaku #kibasaku #kakasaku #i just need a happy ending okay?

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cutegirlmayra · 5 years ago

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Commission receipt: Ember’s Story, another chapter

Ember’s Story Commission Receipt

@marydragneell Commission for The Flares That Come From Ashes (Another chapter to Ember’s story)

Time: about 2 months or so.

Review: @marydragneell : OMG IM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH IT ❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤ The beginning is so cute 😍 how ember and manic are with each other. Her being in manic's band❤❤❤❤How cute and adorable they are together. Love the sinister appearance of mephilis perfect for him. Manic being a awesome badass for his girlfriend. Shadow acting jealous in such a cute sibling way. The perfect reaction to her trigger of seeing someone she love hurt 💔 ❤The recomforting ❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤ Just manic calling shadow big bro XD and pocking fun of shadow. All the " i wanna get your blessing ". Perfect representation of the duality of ember mental state, her nature and how she act. AMAZING BATTLE SCENE!!!!!!!!!!! The characters grow 👌 And the fact that you show that the fusion did left a permanent impact on her.

Me: Boy it was fun! Thanks again for the opportunity. ^//u//^

Paid Amount: 60$ for 50+ pages to add to the wonderful story of Ember the Immortal Wolf, prototype to Shadow The Hedgehog, and embedded with the rejected Cursed Emerald.

Product Preview: With permission from @marydragneell, here is the ROUGH DRAFT of the product.

The Flares that Come From Ashes

Another short story for the amazing Mary!

By: Cutegirlmayra

"La, la, la~" Ember tapped the mic, then garbled some gibberish to clear her throat. "Do, ray, me." She spoke, smiling nervously as she seemed a bit spooked by the stage lights. "Come on, Manic. You really think I'm ready for all this?" Ember twiddled her claws lightly against each other, ducking her head slightly as she tried to see through the blinding spotlights and turned to see the rest of the band practicing in their own respective places on stage. "It just seems... like maybe I'm not cut out to be in a band." She rubbed her arm, shyly admitting her fears of joining his group.

"Nah, girl. You really are ready." Manic, leaning against the side of the stage, finally walked out to reveal himself and stood beside her, drumming her shoulder, then her head, then her mic as she giggled and pulled her head slightly away from his reach. "You just need some confidence singing in front of others, is all."

Ember smiled sweetly, blushing at his cute charms. "This will be a lot different than helping Shadow at..." she gagged, not wanting to say G.U.N's name and still having a biased against them.

"Right. No more secret missions." He winked to her, then leaned with his arms crossed on the mic. "Babe, you really think you can't have a first debut with my band?"

"I'm just..! Psyching myself out!" she shook her head, her long coat swishing with the motion as her tail fluffed out in hopes of getting herself pumped. "Let's practice, just one more time!" she gripped the mic and he moved for her, but placed a hand right where hers was on the mic, then moved it up to show that he would stand there as emotional support. He gripped the mic to hold it steady for her, and for a second, their fingers intertwined, just the pinkie and ring finger, making Ember smile at his tender touch of compassion.

"Remember your diaphragm is your strongest tool, use it well. But it needs to breathe." He teased, leaning to her cheek to and letting their faces touch. His breath was warm, and the scent of their last home-cooked meal made her giggle and wiggle her nose a bit. Tingles came from her hands up to her cheeks, and she blushed at how close he was.

Nodding and swooning at his flirtations, she finally took a deep breath... honing all the knowledge about music, tempo, and breath-control he had been teaching her and began to sing lightly.

"Louder, Ems!" he bounded towards the edge of the stage, "Louder, girl!" then jumped off, moving back and spreading his arms out. "We gotta hear ya in the back!" he started drumming on the chairs, "I can't hear you, and I'm up in the front!"

She tried to sing a little louder, swishing her body back and forth but still nervous and more focused on what he was doing.

"Where's my girl's voice? I thought this was a rockin' concert!" He drummed louder, since she couldn't see through the lights, letting her know he was now towards the back of the venue they were playing at tonight.

She took both hands and pulled the mic's stand towards her, the wires whiplashed and she hoisted it up above herself, belting as loud as she could a powerful note that suddenly blasted through the speakers like an avalanche on a mountain's side.

The whole of the arena shook in the vibrations, making the band behind her almost lose balance and a few plug or stuck a finger in their ears from the deafening sound.

"Whoo! Now that's what I call a lion's roar Friday and no canary Saturday! Yeah!" He seemed to be hyped about her new found sound but his band mates all shook their heads and itched inside their ears again, hearing a ringing from that loudness.

They clearly weren't thrilled about her almost blowing out the mics, but she patted it lightly and whispered, "Sorry." with an embarrassed smile. She just wanted to get back at Manic, trying to prove a point that she didn't want to—literally—bring the house down.

However, Ember was only focused on pleasing Manic at the same time. She still wasn't the best at making friends, but with the ones she was able to gain, she treasured them dearly and without hesitation.

She trusted Sonic and his gang, Shadow—obviously—and lastly Manic... first and foremost.

She was still a little hesitant about Rouge... but that was just because she worked close with Shadow, and she didn't like how close they seemed to be in more ways than just work...

Either way, this was family. What she had wanted from the very beginning. To not feel alone or useless... Manic and the others accepted that she was dangerous, but also that she was loving, funny, and sweet.

Sure, she could be sassy, but only when provoked to and by appropriate means... sometimes.

She giggled, thinking of times she's purposefully ticked Sonic off just to make Shadow smile. Though he'd scold her, it would be a light whack on the head, and she knew by the light pat afterward where he hit her that he was glad she shut his annoying mouth for a change~

Most of the time, she acted a bit like the gang's grandmother. She would pick flowers with Cream, try and help Amy to learn to sing, and duke it out with Knuckles! She wasn't always keen on the technical stuff Tails liked to do, but even then, she let him research her powers every now and then. Showing off her strength was fun too, but Shadow always told her to hold back a bit... which was hard, since Ember could get super competitive!

"Hey, let's go over some songs real quick. We still got time." Manic hopped up to the stage and sat on the edge, pulling out some sheet music and pointing to some parts. "You struggled before with this one but I think you've nailed it since. Still, no harm in rehearsing and making sure it's picture perfect right?"

'Perfect..?'

Ember lowered her mic's stand back down lightly to the stage. sorrowfully, she was pulled out of her funny, perfect memory and placed in another conflicting stance. There was no better word to dampen her spirits than that one... and it hadn't been so long since she felt so imperfect and dangerous. It was definitely something she struggled with, but worked hard to overcome within herself.

Those children... they were still screaming for food or hugs. Maria... and Dr. Gerald Robotnik... they were still marveling at Shadow before he had awakened.

Some things never changed, but her memories of not being able to save anyone... those were the hardest to lock away and turn her mentally gazing eye from.

"Huh? What's wrong, Ems?" Manic got up, noticing her change in demeanor. "Uh oh, did I cramp your style?" He moved his hand in an old 90's way and she shook her head, realizing he was trying to cheer her up again.

"Shadow's the ultimate life form... the perfect cure or whatever..." She swished her body to the side, ignoring his cuteness for a moment to try and explain herself. she nervously held her hands behind her back and rubbed them together too, trying to hide her fidgety nature. She sighed a long, breathy wind out onto the mic from her nose and then felt arms around her waist. "H-hey!" she blushed, getting lifted up into the air, her arms coming out by her sides.

"Well, it's true no one's perfect." Manic tickled her with his long, hedgehog nose by her exposed belly, making her fidget to get out of his grasp. "But your perfect for me, babe. I don't need you to do the world's sense of perfection, but only your very best self should be on this stage. Alright? Otherwise... I'm gonna have to have a private session with you in the back..." he turned her around and began to kiss her neck, making her laugh at his suggestion.

"Oh, no audience, eh? Taking the pressure off?" She teased, patting his chest lightly to pretend to get him off of her.

"Emm... something like that." He head-bumped her forehead affectionately, "Just us two. Playing... somewhat what we're supposed to do." He took her hands and pulled them out a little to her sides, just messing with her and helping her loosen up.

Her tail wagged slightly and she looked up with a red muzzle. He really was a charmer... "Are all hedgehogs born charming?"

"Naaaah," Manic let one of her hands he was holding onto go and waved her compliment off in a comical way, "Your brother was created with his natural, flaring smile." He gestured to his smirk and she fell to the ground laughing. "Engineered to be devilishly handsome, I suppose. Your family has good genes."

"Hand-selected." She teased back and the two fell in howling laughter on the ground, rolling to their backs and having their arms grasping around their waistlines, the tip of their heads right up by each other's.

"Yo, can you two stop acting so precious?" One of the band mates smiled to them, "We need to get back to practice, you know. And you two would be wise to do the same, as well!"

Manic just nodded, pretending to be serious again. "Right, mate. Of course, don't let us stop you guys from your hard work either." He held up a hand and as soon as the member turned around, he expertly threw a lightly spinned drum stick to hit his head.

"Ow! Why you-!" Then the whole of the band started laughing, jumping in to dog pile Manic.

Ember smiled at the ruckus, wagging her tail as she got up to avoid the squabble. Seeing how close he was to them, made her happy... but... She crawled away from the fight, hugging her legs to resist the urge to join them. Though she really, really wanted too jump in and roughhouse with them. She knew she was a bit too powerful to do that though... So her ears bent back and she placed her head on her legs, waiting patiently and enjoying the boys' playful wrestle match, all in good fun.

"We don't care if you bring your girlfriend in to sing, but do you have to be so cute with her, Man!?" one stated and she blushed. They never really officially told anyone... maybe just Shadow, but he denied it fiercely.

She wondered why... after all, Manic kept her away from Shadow most of the time. She stayed out of trouble too... so why was he so opposed to him?

He had stated he was fine with her having friends, so why not a boyfriend? Last time he saved her from Scourge, Shadow had admitted Manic wasn't so bad a guy... maybe he was prejudice against his hippie vibe persona? Though she knew in her heart he was raised in the rough streets where he had to steal most of the time... maybe that could be a player in Shadow's obvious disapproval of him?

"Lay off, dude, I can't help but want to hold her. Got a problem with that?!" Manic grinned from ear to ear, hitting the blokes off in their tussling sport before they all seemed to be done with messing with him. Panting and looking tired, they probably just needed to blow off some of the nerves they were feeling. It was their big night too... Ember couldn't screw it up.

"Whatever, just keep to a schedule. Kiss and coo after the performance, okay?" One went to get his fallen shades for his eyes and shook his head, just making fun of his friend.

"Yeah, at least we can avoid it then." Another stated, giving Manic a nudge in the shoulder as brothers would do.

"The love police, Ember. They're everywhere!" Manic got up with a quickened step, stumbling over as fast as he could back to her, scrambling to stay on his feet but really just crawling to her. She just couldn't help but fall for him over and over again... as he kept falling over and over trying to get to her.

He helped her up and she jumped to her feet, "Maybe we do need to just go solo then."

The band groaned and they laughed, "Don't take our best drummer, Ember." They teased in reply.

But as all seemed to go back to normal, the band rehearsing and Ember warming up her voice, a strange wind storm picked up... there was a rustling in the leaves as they flew up towards the stage lights... causing gentle shadows over the harsh beams of white. The wind blew a warning sound, bellowing as though trying to speak over Ember's singing voice. But in the darkness of the sky there twisted out a small, purple portal. It's mouth gaped wide, spinning with loops of different shades of darkness like blues and purples into a wavy effect in the black sky.

Finally, looking away from Ember a moment as he drummed, Manic sensed something off as his quills picked up in the wind's fierce direction. He stopped by reaching out and touching his drums, stopping the beat and vibrations to look around. "What is that?" Manic held up a hand for the others to also cease a moment... and listen. He then turned to his band, "Get on guard, dudes. There's only one thing that makes me this chilly." He began, getting off the drums and clutching his magical necklace a moment, "Dangerous schemes..." he narrowed his eyes towards the purple portal.

They all hurried to the back of the stage as something misty and liquid dropped like runny goop from the rift in the sky. It began to form from the shadows around it, rising from the ground in what looked like a misty, disfigured water fountain. A figure solidified... rolling its head into place and crooking its two arms out like a scarecrow in the isle of the arena...

The figure had distinct hedgehog quills... then a white tuff that looked almost grey a moment... bluish gleams from its silhouette.

It almost looked like... That obsidian color...

"...Shadow?" Ember stated in disbelief as the rift blasted away as though something fiery were on the other end. Flames that torched the sky and even blinded the band who tried to shield themselves with their arms. "Ahh..!" Ember felt like the flames were brighter than the stage lights... At last, the figure looked itself over, as though checking to make sure it survived whatever had brought it here.

The colors were slightly wrong, the grey instead of the red... what was this? An illusion? Some sort of trick?

His eyes were covered in what seemed like a green glaze, though it was clear it did resemble Shadow, in a striking way.

"Strange... this time was my only escape... I don't have long before Sonic and his friends blow out my other half..." He then sharply looked over to Ember, narrowing his eyes as he felt the pull of an odd chaos emerald. "Interesting... I sense a great sorrow in your chest... mind if I remove it?" he slowly, creepily moved in a zombie fashion with flimsy gestures with his hand to point at Ember. "It won't take long... but it will be painful... hahahaha." He laughed as though an axe hacking at stone.

"This doesn't look so good!" Manic grabbed the silver necklace that dangled loosely by his chest and a set of magical drums—different than his band's—sprung into existence through sparkles from the arena. "Get out of here, Ember. I don't think this guy is anywhere close to being your brother."

"B-but..." She covered her cursed emerald, and looked to Manic. "What about you? I'm not just gonna run while you take on this... this thing!" She was clearly spooked, but would never abandon Manic.

'It could be a clone,' was her first thought, remembering Shadow's stories and how Eggman had cruelly tormented him by making him think he—himself—was nothing more than a fake. Luckily, he was the original, and Ember could tell that right away... though she had never seen a clone.

"Shadow... I haven't heard that name in a long time." The figure slid his foot up to step forward, "Nor have I heard... Brother?" He seemed to twist his head as though stretching his neck back. "I wasn't aware there were more of his kind... but that explains why that dark essence hasn't eaten your life away just yet..." He was like a ragdoll, and quickly seemed to regain himself, rolling his spine as up to straighten himself, but instead his back lurched back and his arms dangled again to his sides. "I need a host soon, or my very being, the will and mind of Solaris, will be destroyed fully in my flame body, Iblis... Which Sonic currently is trying to defeat." His words made no since to them, but Ember gathered that he knew Shadow.

"You know Shadow The Hedgehog?" She stepped forward, but Manic just looked back at her, worried.

"I... drew my form off his shadow." His head lowered as his eyes seemed to pierce like spears through to her core. "And soon... I'll draw form from you as well..."

"Ember, don't listen to him! I can feel his vibes, he's no good!" Manic tried to warn her, getting antsy on his drum seat. However, she seemed entranced with the idea of someone that looked like Shadow... maybe another experiment?

Though she had a perfect memory, she knew for a fact that Gerald hadn't created any similar copies of Shadow...

'Flame body?' she wondered, her ears flicking as she pondered his words. 'Form?'

"Ah, I see you're of the sensible kind... excellent. Hahahaha..!" The figure laughed in his sadist way again, plotting something... "I was ripped apart from my other half by your... brother..." He gestured to his body, "I assume his form now only to survive, but since I have failed after merging with my glorious true form again... I have no choice but to rewrite time while I still have a silver of flame left in me... Reunite me with a new half, and I can tell you what will befall Shadow in the future... The persecution... the misery of his shamed life." He wildly swung a hand out to her, the side of his body faltering as he tilted with his outstretched hand, down and to the side.

Ember was immediately pulled into that promise, wondering what he meant and if he was somehow tied to another time. She stepped forward again, but this time Manic grabbed her arm back, "Ember, don't-!" he warned, but this figure only laughed at his attempt.

"Ember... what a befitting name... the last flares of my life... mixed with the ashes that shall soon be the remainder of your own... It's perfect poetry... hahahaha!" The figure stood like a scarecrow again, laughing as more dark flares formed around him, rolling his head back in dark humor.

At that last sentence Ember stepped back, and the lure he had over her lessened.

However... for Shadow's future's sake... she wanted so desperately to know more.

"I escaped a deadly fate, I only want to release you from your imprisonment... and allow it to be my salvation." He gestured his hand out to speak, seeing he had her strung on his previous words, "But not just my own... but to save your fellow immortal... as well..."

"He has answers. I knew G.U.N would betray us!" she began to grow angry, her fangs bared with her clamping bite as she gritted her teeth and growled.

"Yes... the world will never accept you... After all, we're both of the dark." He lowered his head, having her emerald embedded in her chest glowing the same purple mist with darkness lining its power in his crystallizing eyes with magma red glowing from the sockets... "Together... we can change the future." He flashed in a light and seemed to crystallize fully, "Now then... with the last of my power, I have altered time and come to this world... Ember... Give me of your power!"

"Ember, please." Manic didn't like holding her back, but he knew something was off. "You've accepted yourself, remember? The world doesn't matter, but those who love you do!" he gently tugged on her arm again, trying to get her to stand behind him on this one. "Please... this guy doesn't have your best interest at heart! Isn't that obvious?!"

"But he might have Shadow's..." Her eyes softened, but she didn't want to just shake Manic off. She knew in her heart that would be wrong, "If there's a way I can help Shadow..."

"Keeping you alive and happy will help Shadow!" Manic spun her around, turning her gaze from the figure, who lifted his head in a twitching jolt at losing sight of the cursed emerald... "If Sonic defeated him and he's running, don't you think that's a bad sign?" Manic tried to convince further, "I just can't have you go with him, Ember. Please, listen to me. Just this once, okay? You can ignore me the rest of the concert but hear my words now, at least now, Ember!" He was struggling to have her look at him, but she just kept ducking her head. She hadn't seen him this worked up before, but the idea that Shadow's future could be spared... But was he really a bad guy from another time and world? Would Sonic know of him?

She longed to have joined in that playful wrestle with Manic and his friends... If she was rid of the cursed emerald, could she live a normal life? Would her immortality fade and she could have a life with Manic? Finally end this suffering? Would her super powers fade and she could be a regular lady without a single care in the world?

Or would the world be better off without her... if she was so dangerous, maybe at least... she could leave Shadow with some hope for his future...

Impatient, the figure's being rose in the air. "I am Mephilis the Dark. I'm your only means for salvation." He began to form what looked like a crystal in his hand. It carried down to form a crystal around his body, and soon, he blasted into a hardened form with seemed to have a silver tuff that looked strangely like a bird... "Come to me, chaos emerald! Join your form to a more suitable host!" he formed a purple sphere in his hand and threw it towards her, a large dark beam flung behind her to block the other members of the band from interfering.

A huge ridge was created in the stage, and the others moved away to escape the glowing beam before Manic turned to see Mephilis charging through the air towards Ember, reaching for her emerald.

Ember's eyes looked ready to reflex... but relaxed... as though thinking it was time to accept whatever fate had in store... maybe for the greater good.

"No!" Manic slammed his drum sticks against his magical drum set that blasted out a sonic boom.

Mephilis pulled back to block the attack,... "Grr...ahhh!" In frustration, he was held back.

Manic looked to Ember, a sense of urgency and concern in his eyes, "Look, I've lived on the streets! Take my advice and get outta here or I'm gonna have to fight this guy!" he seemed really serious, "Go!" he was done saying please, and Ember could see it.

With regret at not trusting him right away, she looked back at Mephilis, then Manic. "You run too, then!" she cried out, but he was already locked in a battle with the strange figure now known as Mephilis... as dark orbs launched towards him but Manic played a sick beat that blasted them away.

"No! Go find Shadow! I'll stall him!" He seemed dedicated to the fight. "Trust me, I'll be okay! You guys go too!"

The bandmates all hesitated as well, but then took hold of Ember, trying to pull her back and let them flee with her.

"Noo..!" She shook them off, almost throwing one of them, "I won't leave you!"

However, the bandmates looked to each other and one put their hand on her shoulder, "Look, Ems. He's Sonic's brother, right? If he says he's got this, we gotta trust him." He nodded to her, "That weirdo's after you, right? He's only trying to protect you. Come on, we can fight another day. Especially when we learn more about this impostor!"

She took one final look back at Manic... "Promise?" she knew he would never go back on one...

Manic didn't say anything... but gave a light nod. "Take care of her for me, boys... her brother can keep her safe and I'll figure out more about this dude. Go now!"

"Manic..." She felt tears coming to her eyes but with an orb being sent her way, a bandmate stepped forward and whacked it back with his guitar. At least, he tried, but upon impact the guitar exploded and sent the bandmate flying back.

Ember outstretched her hand and grabbed him, moving with the others to retreat. "You better promise me... in your heart! I'll be waiting for you! Otherwise... I'm... I'm coming for you!" she was rushed with the bandmates out through the back...

"I don't take lightly to people trying to rip my girlfriend apart!" A side of Manic that Ember hadn't really seen in him came out, a protective and hardened side of Manic she didn't know was there.

She knew he lived on the streets, was a thief and all, but he always talked about having honor with it.

As she took off, she could hear him bantering with Mephilis, and knew he'd be somewhat okay. She could picture him winking to her, blowing her a kiss, and saying to find somewhere safe. But the only safe place right now would be... ughh...

She groaned in her thought process, "Shadow's going to be so mad..."

G.U.N HQ

"I didn't bail on Manic! He's not into fighting, true, but he knew something was up and I just didn't listen to him. I wanted to know what future that look-a-like was talking about for you, can you blame me?" Ember tried to explain herself, but Shadow turned around abruptly to cut her off from any further justification she would have thrown at him.

"Yes, and I will." He moved to the other side of the room, "This is bad timing. I get a headache when you say his name, and I can't remember where I would have met him. You say he has my form?" he looked back at her as she nodded, once figuring out he wasn't talking about Manic.

"Truthfully! I thought it was you at first..." she held her head down, worried about Manic again, and then tried to give him her best 'pleading little sister wolfie eyes' to get him to help.

Shadow just sighed, taking a moment to accept that she wasn't making things up for his attention. "Fine. I'll look into it, see if Gerald-"

"No! I know his secrets, this isn't one of them!" She swiped her arm out, declaring it thus. "Let's not waste time with reading insignificant files! We have to go and get Manic!"

"Calm down, sweetie. Your boyfriend's defeated but he isn't dead... yet." The womanly voice flew down from the rafters, flexing her wings out and patting Ember's head. However, the action was taken as a insult, Ember thinking she was demeaning her by making her feel like a child being comforted, "There, there. What a whiny little sister you can be sometimes. Especially since you're a number one target for that escapee recently."

"Rouge." Shadow's eyes narrowed to her, as if telling her to remain silent on that.

"Escapee?" Ember thought a moment, moving her fingers as if trying to put two and two together, then her eyes widened in shock. "SCOURGE!?" Ember gripped her head, then looked wildly to her figurative brother, "Scourge is out now, too!?"

"Apparently, seeking revenge." Rouge walked around her and headed towards Shadow, folding her arms. "You were instructed by G.U.N to track him down, yet you didn't even warn your own sister yet?"

Shadow just verbally let out a groan at her spilling the information without going over it with him first. "I didn't want to worry you." He looked to Ember, "I would have handled it silently, no need to get you fired up over a rematch."

Ember would have liked the idea but now was not the time, "E-Everyone's after me cursed emerald!" she shouted out like an Irish leprechaun, but stuttered in trying to make the atmosphere lighter than what seemed like impending doom... "So he's broken out of prison, there's a time traveling—I guess—looney now. Anything else I missed?" The room remained silent, eyes turning away from her. "Great, this is too much for a young, single, totally attractive immortal wolf to handle." She dramatically leaned against one of Shadow's desks as he glared at her.

"Knock it off. Try and act seriously for a change." He scolded.

"Isn't that why G.U.N... 'let me go'?" she did the bunny ears, but clearly she was fired from working alongside Shadow.

"You were a menace to them. You couldn't see it the way I... no, the way Maria wanted us to see them." He turned back to her, and she was slightly triggered on her name, but just shook her head.

"I've handled way worse before... than just losing Maria." She turned her head away, but knew Shadow was probably throwing daggers into her back with his eyes as she said that. Those kids... it was more than just Maria at this point, so... much more.

"...Look," To break the tension, Rouge stepped in-between, holding her hands out to calm Shadow and try and reason with Ember. She seemed to be struggling finding a good way to accomplish that... however, "You can't stay at G.U.N if you don't work for them, and since your last boot, Shadow and I have lovingly referring to you as the new apprentice to that hippie." She seemed to lower her eyes as if annoyed by that.

"Boyfriend, and I'm not a hippie." Ember folded her arms in protest, then stuck her tongue out at Shadow, knowing he didn't want to refer to Manic as that.

"Is it official, though?" Rouge raised a shoulder up over her cheeky look, disguising her clear curiosity but also sinister ploy to get her to admit that nothing had really happened yet between her and Manic...

Ember flinched, holding back wanting to fight her.

"Either way, your brother doesn't like that crowd, apparently." She looked over to him, "Jealous, maybe?"

"Enough, Rouge. He protects Ember, that's all I need to know." Shadow turned back to the door of the facility, having it open as guards waited with shields and guns, ready in case Ember 'acted up' again.

"And he's not a hippie!" Ember was humored by their efforts but was too busy with other important problems to 'play on G.U.N's fear' though she wanted too... badly.

"I disagree." Shadow kept walking and she walked behind him.

To lessen G.U.N's concerns, Rouge also walked behind her. "Seems to be the underlining case... I think you disagree wholeheartedly." she shrugged her arms out.

"Thank you, Rouge." he didn't pause in his stride.

"-That maybe he doesn't like the fact that you're spending so much time with another hedgehog other than himself." She covered her mouth with the back of her hand as Ember gasped and Shadow tensed up, turning his head around.

"Rouge!" he scolded.

"Uh oh, did I touch a nerve?" Playing innocent, Rouge smiled and looked away from him, seeing as Ember also seemed touched and went to hug him. However, he outstretched his hand in an attempt to hold her back.

Upon exiting the steel facility of G.U.N, the team decide to drop in on Sonic, seeing if the team of adventuring friends had any luck with remembering this enemy... but to their surprise—"Huh?"

"I've never heard of someone with the ability to shape-shift like that..." Tails placed a book down, trying to look through his journals but nothing was popping up about this strange Shadow figure...

"Maybe you have an admirer, Shadow." Sonic tilted his head back and to the side, giving Shadow a cheeky grin sneakily, but Shadow was too observant for his teases. He just rolled his eyes at Sonic's antics, choosing not to entertain him with a response.

"According to Ember, you were in battle with him before." Shadow explained, giving his full attention to Tails as Sonic dipped his head down and smirked, seeing as Shadow was trying to take everything too seriously again for his tastes.

"Oh? Must have trounced him then!" Sonic gave himself a hearty fist swing, as though to celebrate his victory that he didn't even understand had happened or would happen yet. "Maybe he's from the future? We could ask Silver..."

"No good, there's nothing about him here. Technically, if what Ember says is true, he does sound like it's his 'past' to him..." Tails deciphered through Ember's perfect retelling, trying to pinpoint terms that could lead to an answer.

"You assume I'm not?" She played, looking to Sonic to show that his sense of humor wouldn't go unnoticed.

He gave her a quiet snicker with his eyes closed, enjoying the fact that at least one immortal had some charm.

"N-no, of course not!... heeeyyy..." Tails worried he had upset her, but seeing her and Sonic's shoulders bouncing and grins, he knew they were laughing together. "Don't pick on me..." He whined cutely.

"Oh, never Tails." She swished her tail behind her, "Never without the intent to sweetly embarrass you."

He sighed and continued, "Anyway,... we don't know if it's our future or past. Not for certain, but it does sound like something that was currently occurring for him, and he knew he wouldn't be around much longer in that time-frame of space..." Tails tried to think over what Ember said, it was still hard to identify where this villain would have originated from in their timeline.

"Another world? Dimension, maybe?" Sonic questioned, trying to help him out with half the thinking.

Tails scratched his chin, moving his torso around before gripping his head in frustration, "Oh, I just can't figure it out! I need more information..." He looked downhearted, unable to help. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry, Tails." Ember lightly patted his head, "Maybe he's just some jerk, that's all we need to know, right? A bad guy..?" She still wasn't sure about that... he seemed to know about Shadow's future...

She was still curious about his origin... but mostly about what he knew of whatever future he had seen or known for Shadow...

"A-Aren't you curious?" Ember turned to Shadow, who walked over beside the couch and folded his arms, facing away from her. "Whether he's an enemy or not? He tried to take your emerald, which I believe sustains your life since you are a prototype. He openly admitted that Sonic had fought him and was winning. Wouldn't that mean he is?" He turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I've always known my path would be full of human fear and deceit. But I don't do it for myself... you know who I promised. I can't withdraw from this life, even if I know it will be misfortune in the end. My form will only be useful for such things as pertain to this world... If this Mephilis uses my form and seeks to remain in this world by your power, then he is corrupting both our purposes." He tightened his fist.

Ember rubbed her arm, sensing she had struck a nerve. She didn't want to push the subject and trigger the tragedy, but she also knew he didn't understand what she was actually asking, "That's not quite what I-" but before she could finish, the door to Tails's workshop slammed open.

"Get this kid some place to lay down!" Rouge had shoved the door open with one hand and holding Manic by her other arm. He was slumped over, his head down and slowly looking up with a bruised eye, squinting it open slightly to look around. He was clearly hurt, his arm around Rouge to support himself as she tried to get him over the step and into the house.

"E..Em...Ember..." he spoke faintly with a weak strength that barely let him slide a foot under himself to help Rouge move him easier.

His black eye shut again as Rouge looked over to Shadow, "Let's get him on the couch. I went to check on him like you asked me to... but..." Sonic and Shadow moved swiftly, lifting him from Rouge's care and placing him on the couch as Ember's eyes trembled, seeing someone she loved so much in pain...

She covered her mouth, "No... no more... no more hurting..." she shut her eyes, unable to bear the sight any longer.

So many memories... of the ones she's grown to care about hurting so much... because of her.

Manic coughed, being laid on the couch as Sonic gave him a worried smile, "Like old times, eh? What happened to you, Manic? At least tell me you won... right?" He meant to say 'are you okay?' but that was just how him and his brother spoke to one another.

"Oh yeah, I did decently." He tried to open his eye more for his brother, giving him a playful wink. "Ouch..." He flinched, the action might have been too strenious. But that didn't stop Manic from trying to pull it off.

She had pictured that wink... but now it was so very, very different...

He was hurt.

It was all her fault...

Though that villain should be to blame, Ember couldn't help but direct the guilt to herself.

"They got the better of me... still, my Bandmates got Ember to Shadow, and they themselves found me pretty banged up... but those two... they made a deal." Manic's last words had caught the attention of everyone in the room.

He looked over to Ember, seeing as she was lost in her own thoughts, looking anxious. "Hey, don't be afraid, Ems. I'm okay... really..." He tried to grab her attention, but she was lost in her own self-grief and pity. "I just got beat up by some powerful, wicked bad dudes, no biggie. I'm still here, see?" He smiled kindly, though worse for wear, he outstretched a hand in compassion towards her.

He wanted her to come to him... even though he had gotten hurt for her sake?

She slowly approached, but her memories of the fallen were a lot for her to take.

She didn't want him to suffer the same fact as others who had known her.

"Shadow was right." She fell to her knees and cried, unable to grab his hand as the others watched her in shock. "Our only future is misfortune... especially for those around us..."

They all looked worriedly towards her, but remained silent in her sorrowful display, not knowing how to comfort her.

"I should have stayed!" she cried out, "You should have let me fight beside you..!" She wiped the tears from her eyes as he smiled at her gentle display of compassion towards him, but also knowing she didn't want anyone's sympathy, just like Shadow. He was too prideful to comfort her, so he just let her cry, closing his eyes to give her a moment of respectful distance.

"Look at my girl... so strong, like her brother." He looked to Shadow, almost like to mock him for not being emotional about his tragic fate either. "Heh, I didn't want to see you hurt either, Ems. I did what a man should do." He nodded his head back to her, dismissing Shadow, who opened his eyes to try and judge what he meant by that. "Protecting the people you love isn't easy, it isn't easy for anyone, but that doesn't mean you don't take risky chances to ensure their happiness."

"How does this make me happy!?" Ember gripped and shredded some of Tails's wooden flooring... "How does this make anyone happy!?"

"... I am happy, knowing you're not hurt, or worse." He tried to get up, but began to show the pain and couldn't quite do it. "Now come on, Ems. Come sit with... me." Ember worriedly raced to him, skimming his back and letting him rest his head on her lap as she gently eased him into letting her sit down and look after him.

"Dummy, I can heal faster than you!" she helped him relax again and he gave her a huge, dorky grin.

"Does this mean you'll take care of me? Man, so worth it!" he joked, settling into her loving care.

She gently massaged his shoulders, rubbing his chest, and trying to self-comfort herself that he was alive. "I am glad you're alive... but I refuse to just let you talk me into running off like that again... I don't care how mad you get."

"Heh... I guess saving your life is only good for a one-time thing, eh?" Manic closed his eyes, and even with everyone staring at him, he leaned his head towards her and began to try and take it easy. "You're so used to Shadow always partnering up along side you... I just wanted to be a daring, brave hero for you... at least once."

Shadow twitched an eyebrow, but moved swiftly over to Sonic and Manic, seeming to want to change the subject and ignore the two's intimate moment. "We need you to tell us exactly what happened." he spoke with a lot of authority, but also with a hint of annoyance... maybe he just wanted to get more details out as soon as possible?

Manic turned his head slightly to Shadow, then smiled weakly. "What's up, big bro?"

Shadow flinched again, "I asked you a question. It's urgency couldn't be more dire."

"...Isn't that the same thing?" He looked jokingly up to Shadow and then to his brother, "Did you see him march over here like I'm some kinda crook?"

"You do have your head in his sister's lap, bro." Sonic folded his arms, giving him a sly look.

"Ha, I'm not the dog here." He looked lovingly up to Ember, "I'm a gentlemen."

She leaned down to his head, lightly kissing it. "You're a gentlemen rogue." she teased, "Stealing my heart and all."

"But she gave you her lap freely." Sonic snickered under his gloved hand, giving a sideways glance to Shadow, seeing his reaction.

Shadow refrained from making a comment, but it was clear he was starting to get upset.

Ember tilted her head, "Shadow? Does this really bother you?" She couldn't understand why, but wondered if he really was protective of her or not.

Shadow turned his head away, and after a long, awkward silence, Manic spoke up again.

"Can't a man catch his breath first?" he turned his head to Rouge, "Can I get some water? My mouth's a little dry here..." But Ember bent down and kissed him again, instead. "Woah..! Did I die and go to heaven already?" he marveled at her, but she just giggled as Rouge covered her mouth and seemed to enjoy the young lovers having their 'catching up' moment before retreating to the kitchen. She slid her hand over Shadow's arm, whispering something for him to relax and then came back with some water, handing it to Ember to help Manic drink.

"Let him rest a moment, Shadow. There's no use in pushing him too far." Rouge stated, nodding towards Ember. "Besides, your sister can get more out of him than you ever could~" she teased. Ember smiled up to Rouge, realizing she wasn't as bad as she thought...

At least she was siding with her and Manic, for now, anyway.

After gulping down some sips of water, Manic gave out a long, happy sigh. "Ahhh... now that hit the spot. I feel much better, able to talk more now, too." He looked to Shadow. "That guy called himself Mephilis the Dark, right? While we fought, he was insanely strong! No matter how much I hit him, he never seemed to fade in strength all that much... however, I think I almost figured him out, at least his fighting style, but..." He trailed off and looked away, seeming disappointed in the turn of the events, "That's when that Scourge guy showed up with his gang." Manic narrowed his eyes a moment, remember the encounter. " I remember his name alright... They jumped me and my drums formed back into my necklace... they held me down and beat on me as Scourge demanded to know where Ember was, but Mephilis must have saw him as an opportunity to find her as well."

Ember bit on her lower lip, worried about them tag-teaming to find her...

"I don't know why Scourge agreed, but I have a feeling he's not gonna be honest in that arrangement... but then again, I don't think Mephilis was too keen on honesty or trust either... They all look like backstabbers to me, and they're all after your Cursed Emerald, Ember..." He looked up at her again, lifting his hand to cup her face a moment. "But don't sweat it, I'll make sure they never get you. Mark my words, babe." They touched foreheads a moment, as Sonic and Tails looked to each other, concerned.

"We'll try and figure out where Scourge is and what he's up to with this guy. If they are hunting Ember down, we should plan out if we're gonna bait them or hide her." Tails gestured a hand out, stating the necessity for a plan, but Shadow immediately stomped up to him.

"There won't be a need to use Ember." he stated, looming over Tails. Tails moved back a bit, but Sonic countered by moving up towards Shadow, stopping him from intimidating his friend.

"If they've teamed up, who knows how powerful they are now. He interrupted Manic's fight, and are probably after the other emeralds. Me and Tails will try and split up our gang, find out if they're heading to Angel Island or are abandoning everything to find the impure emerald." Sonic tried to bring reason and logic into his actions, which calmed Shadow down a bit. "If you and Manic take Ember, Rouge can go off on her own to try and spot them and stay as a spy. We'll cut them off before they can cause any further trouble. But let's hope they're only after Ember... that trouble we can ambush, sound good to you?"

"...Ember doesn't do well with plans." Shadow glared back at Ember, as though implying that she needs to agree to this too.

Ember nodded her head, looking determined to get back at Scourge for hurting Manic, and also hoping to find out what this Mephilis the Dark guy knew about Shadow... and if it was true or not.

"You've gotta let me come with you, Shadow." Manic winced in pain as he got up, which made Ember panic and grab his arm to help him. "I care about her just as much as you do... I may not be as strong or accomplished at saving things like Sonic is... but I'm just as good as my brother when it comes to protecting those I cherish..."

Sonic nodded, giving his brother a thumbs up for his bravery. "You won't find a better man, Shadow!"

"...Alright." Shadow conceded. "I don't need any further convincing. If Ember wants you along to help, I won't oppose." He began to walk out the door, "But listen... heed this warning... Scourge, we understand his ways, but Mephilis, we do not. We need to be cautious, for Embers sake." He looked to her as if saying she really needed to act mature during this, and Ember just embarrassingly looked away, still holding Manic's arm as he kissed her cheek to try and cheer her up.

"Ugh." Shadow turned away, disgusted by the display of comforting affection, and walked to open the door. "Come on, we should keep a constant movement..."

"Your brother once protected the president before, right?" Manic wanted to encourage Ember that he probably knew best, but she just laughed.

"And tried to destroy him."

The room grew silent.

Then Sonic let out a huge roar of laughter, gripping his stomach.

Scourge and Mephilis, on the hunt...

"We've scowered everywhere for this girl! Why is she so hard to find?!" Scourge kicked over a burning trashcan, watching it's tin tink against the dark street... there were people screaming to escape the fires, and Scourge just looked at his hand, gripping it tightly. "What good is causing mayhem and panic if I know I'm not the most terrifying thing out there!?"

Mephilis had his arms crossed, standing next to him, looking like stone... "I think we'd get along... if you weren't so deranged." He mused to himself, turning to him as Scourge got right up in his face.

"I only make friends with subordinates. We agreed you'd let me do this my way! Flush out the rat with flames!" he threw his hand back to the burning city. "Besides, you look as twisted as I am..." he muttered under his breath.

"I have no issue with you burning the world... but as for sniffing or snuffing her out, I doubt you'd find her." He moved with strange elegance, and placed his hand on the ground. Shadows of whispy, black vines began to mutate around him, "If what you say is true... then her emerald has negative chaos energy... compared to it's seven, pure siblings... it's power can't be controlled or harnessed... It's a mad stone. One who needs a host able to contain and manipulate its madness..."

The darkness began to grow, dodging the fires but being born from their flickering shadows cast to the walls as well, upon the walls they danced... and began to search for every living soul... Like a reign of purple and misty hound dogs, falling over each other as they searched for the same... strange... energy...

"What's that your doing?" Scourge growled, scowling at him doing something without an order from himself. "I don't like things done behind my back!"

"...Finding the diamond in the rough..." Mephilis laughed, his dark power moving under screaming feet, the fires burning everything they touched. He had missed this feeling... but soon, with the Cursed Emerald, he'll have it all over again... "The shadows I'm made of are linked with a strong connection to the ultimate life form... if she is at all with Shadow, I shall know of it... and take what I need to survive."

The shadows, almost like the fire from which they were spreading, continued forth out of Mephilis and searched with a lapping, slithering haste that seemed to crawl everywhere in a furious urgency.

Soon, they were outside the city, spreading themselves into the forest. Little Flickies hid in their tree truck holes and cowered from the impending doom they seemed to send.

One of the shadow tips lingered as though to spike through a piggy that was holding its bunny friend, shivering in fright. It came closer before it sensed something, and immediately slithered towards where Shadow was, diving into his shadow...

Mephilis tilted his head, as Scourge once again grew frustrated. "Did you find something..? Care to share with the rest of the class?" He bent down and gestured a hand up as Mephilis just creepily turned to him, but didn't look directly at him.

"I found him... I'm... listening and looking to see where they are..." He heard Shadow speak and was pulled back to the moment at hand.

Shadow, hiding behind a bush with Manic, were clearly alone for right now. "She's well hidden?"

"I told her to stay put." Manic grumbled, "But you know Ember... she's always excited about a new test of strength."

"This isn't a game, she'll listen to you." Shadow was once again so serious, and it was really bumming Manic out.

"I know, I know. But she'd do anything for you." He smiled to Shadow, "You know, she's really attached to you. It broke her heart when G.U.N said she couldn't work with you anymore. It felt like they were taking something else away from her too." He explained, wondering if Shadow knew.

Shadow remained silent,... a moment went by before he sighed quietly and spoke up again, gentler this time. "I tried to warn her. She wouldn't follow orders... G.U.N is different from the past, they're trying to live better than they were..."

"You forgave them, which I respect." Manic nodded his head to him, "But for Ember... it's kinda a betrayal."

He looked away, "G.U.N was run differently in the past. They've learned to accept my power as long as it's used for good means."

"Their means." Manic countered, fiddling with a twig as Shadow glared at him. Manic was momentarily distracted with the twig, playing with it and bending it but not to the point of snapping before looking up to Shadow and then throwing his hands up in apology, and hoping he may calm down and back off a bit from the intense glare of annoyance. "H-hey, now! I'm only saying what Ember's told me. You know, you two should really talk more... she misses you." He gently put the fallen twig back into the bush. "She feels like this twig here... broken off from every family she ever made. Too dangerous to stay with anyone for too long... and mostly hunted down for her power. You can understand how she feels, can't ya?" He gave him a half-forced smile, "You have to understand... how much she longs to be in a real family..."

Shadow 'hmph'd to the side, "She's always been sensitive." but there was a warmness in that tone... A bond that Manic was happy to see shine through.

"Hey... is that a smile?" He teased, gesturing to the gentle curl in Shadow's lips.

Shadow patted Manic's accusing finger away and flicked his nose, "So she's gathering berries and other wild provisions?"

"While we remain lookout, yeah... she didn't like that plan all to much." Manic made a face and Shadow only chuckled.

"That is Ember." He joked,"And you were pretty useless in that condition... I'm... glad you recovered well." the two shared a mutual moment of fondness for her, and then looked to one another. It was as though Shadow had accepted that fact, that Ember loved Manic, but also that Manic was a good man. For a moment, he gave a look of acceptance, before looking off again. "Ember... Heh." He seemed to be thinking back on their adventures together. "She's headstrong, like Sonic. Doesn't stand still for a moment... all this and more... is why she's who she is. Which is exactly why I worry she may never find a decent job in this world..."

"She's doing pretty good at singing." Manic volunteered the idea, trying to lighten the downplay on Ember's talents but Shadow only made a face. "What? Singing don't jell right with you, big bro?"

"Don't call me that." He looked annoyed again.

"All I'm saying is maybe Ember isn't cut out for army or military stuff. She's not like Rouge, a secret agent and spy. She can't always be stealthy," Manic started.

"She longs too much for the attention." Shadow mused to himself while Manic just lowered his eyes and looked back at him as though thinking he was purposefully being a downer now.

"She's powerful, yes. But she also has a powerful, beautiful soul to her as well." He started drumming the ground, "We each have our own rhythms, Shadow. Maybe her's is better suited to things outside of fighting?"

"Yet, she loves to tumble." Shadow joked again, which made Manic just throw his arms up and laugh.

"You're not gonna give my thoughts on Ember the time of day, are you?" He seemed to realize Shadow was blocking him out, but Shadow just pushed his head down, done talking about this for now.

"Just duck down low and do as you're told... Ember wants you here, that's why you are here." He warned him, but Manic just scooted on up to him, moving his hand and seeing a brotherly side of Shadow showing.

"Hey," he grinned widely. "I've been meaning to ask you... I never did get your blessing on asking Ember to date me."

Shadow seemed to lose the slight smile he had, turning to one of more worry and anxiety.

"I wanted to make it more official after I talked with you about it, but you were always caught up with work," Manic continued, but didn't notice Shadow's shifting eyes, and the fact that he adjusted his squat away from Manic. He seemed so unsure of the topic... but what was really bothering him? "And I didn't want to tip Ember off too early about it... Mind if I ask now?"

"No." Shadow abruptly stated, closing his eyes as though to tune Manic out.

Manic took a moment to wait and process that, before speaking up again, "No..? On the timing or..?" he finally turned to try and read Shadow's expression, but Shadow kept a low-profile when it came to his emotions.

"Ever." Shadow moved away from him, and as he did so, the shadows began to move and peer around him, as though fading and glitching out of reality.

"Now hang on a sec-" Manic got up with him, trying to stop him from retreating during an important—and vulnerable—conversation before seeing the abnormality start rising up and swarming the shade around Shadow's silhouette on the ground.

"W-woah!" Manic got up from his squat, "Shadow, what is that!?" He pointed, as shadows seemed to spray out like vines whipping the ground, like an octopus's tentacles lashing out from a spaced hole on the ground, in the shape of Shadow...

Suddenly, they faded into nothingness... Shadow's shadow... was immediately gone.

"Grk..! GAHH!" Mephilis pulled his hand up, the shadows quickly retreating as if being drained back to him forcefully as he gripped his wrist. Scourge had stomped on his hand, seeing him flicker, and thinking he was going to leave them.

"Where ya going, friend?" he sneered, grabbing him and pulling him up as he continued to glitch out and in of reality, causing Scourge to barely have a hand on him. "What are you thinking of doing? Running!? Getting out of the deal!? WHERE IS SHE?"

in his wildness, Mephilis was also held back by Scourge's team: The Destructix. However, in a flash of light, Mephilis completely broke free of them and sent a blast out to knock them back. Slowly moving towards Scourge in his strange movement way, he then fired out a huge beam of power to skim Scourge's ear, spooking him back...

"You're not king... yet." Mephilis landed a manipulative intimidation, faking that they were one in the same goal. He looked at his hand again, examining the strange rift of time and space... his time was running thin. "I could erase you all from ever being born... but I chose to use my power to aid you... if we don't move now... my existence in this timeline will fade... and my own world events... vanish." He glared, threatened by the limited moments he still had.

Scourge may be in a hurry, impatient without question, but he could tell that Mephilis was trying to deceive him just as much as he was trying to trick Mephilis... "You gonna back-stab me, Dark? Better do it while I'm in a good mood..." He smirked, getting up in his face again and not fearing the power he demonstrated earlier; or at least, shaking it off. "Ember's mine. I'll rip the gem out, then you take it as host, and I control you. We all in accord again?"

Mephilis just stared at him, and as though dismissing conflict, moved Scourge aside with a soft swing of his arm. "When I am host to the Cursed Emerald... you shall have a world that will burn in black flames..." He continued on, dipping as though sinking down into the shadows...

Scourge was getting ticked off, "He'll set me aside for the last time... do you have what I asked for?" the team showed him that the portal Mephilis created did in fact lead to a forested area, and seemed to have Manic with Shadow.

"Excellent..." Scourge put his sunglasses back into place, then adjusted his crown. "Let's stick to the plan for now... we'll deal with Darky later..." he then snapped his fingers for Fiona to speak up again. "What about Sonic and the other Chaos Emeralds?"

"They've fortified the island. It will be tricky... but with Mephilis's portals, we should be able to-" She stopped as he spun around, grabbing her waist, and gripped her to him.

"Shh... you're so fidgety lately..." He cooed, lowering his sunglasses, "Babe, all I'm asking is that we plan for that guy to be smoke and dust by the time I get the Cursed Emerald..."

"R-right." She sweat-dropped, knowing that he planned to ditch Mephilis as soon as possible. "In that case~" she flung the paper back behind her, letting it drift in gentle sways to the burning grounds behind them. It was clearly her report from her spy mission, and decided to loop her arms around his neck, "We'll need a long rope... or you'll have to chaos teleport our merry band of thieves..."

"And I, their king." He shoved his face into hers, kissing her as the others waited while they messed around...

Rouge watched as they all disappeared into the portal... behind them, thousands upon thousands of burnt ruins... and flying pieces of flaming fabrics blew in the wind...

"I have to warn them!" she worriedly began to fly into the alley but turned when someone cried out for help, and flaming beams from streets and houses began to topple over one right after the other, some in the distance and others sparking as lamppost exploded as they hit the ground. "...They need me too, though." In her moment of conflict, she flew towards the burning city...

"Please be alright... Shadow... Manic... Ember..." she pleaded under her breath, "I'm leaving them to you all now."

Ember was forging but finding it hard not to pluck a berry with her claw, and then lick the juices and call it 'not eating' her bundle.

She knew Shadow would disapprove but Manic? He'd probably think it was funny. She hummed as she tried to not think about all the evil people that were after her. After all, it wasn't new, it was just kinda exciting. She was immortal, never really aged, but seemed to have never truly lost her immaturity at finding humor in even the most outrageous and life-threatening circumstances.

Sure, you get hurt, but as long as its only her getting hurt she's okay with it.

She thought back to Maria and Gerald Robotnik, how no matter what went wrong, they were always together.

The kids she'd look after and who'd treat her with their skits and plays to entertain one another... they were always together.

Shadow, however... seemed to be more concerned about his 'duty' then spending much time with her.

She loved going on missions with him, trying to impress him. He always acted like she was a liability though... even though he knew how powerful and capable her abilities were.

She could control some chaos, she could do some amazing feats, why did he always scold her on her strength and acting first before asking questions later? She was very much the same with doing something and apologizing later, her simple mottoes, she supposed. It was just her nature, and it seemed to bother Shadow... Was it truly her downfall? Curiosity only killed cats though, not wolves.

Even so, Shadow was kinda always protective of her, now that she thought of it. Even before he accepted her as his experimental prototype for his creation, he seemed to have a distaste for leaving her be too long. Isn't that what brothers are supposed to do? She couldn't really know... but seeing how Manic and Sonic joked around, verses Sonic and Tails, or Manic with his bandmates... it seemed like Sonic and Manic could goof off, wrestle, and even tease without worrying too much about the other.

So then... what was Shadow's deal? Why didn't he trust her... why didn't he want her around..?

She felt her tail swish down to the ground at the thought... She had always taken care of others, maybe that was Shadow's way of showing affection too?

Wasn't she overprotective? Wasn't she always on-guard? Perhaps she just hoped her and Shadow would be different. A true sibling bond.

She would want to return the favor, but how? He didn't even like hugs... but they did trust each other, right?

She trusted him... he seemed to trust her... was Rouge right? Was that why G.U.N kicked her out? Simply because they did trust each other but maybe two experiments was too much for them.

She paused and looked at the food in her hand, growing sorrowful again. Was the world jealous, or just Shadow?

He was the perfect weapon... the cure to all humanity... and yet, she was meant to protect him.

Then why... does it seem like he's protecting her?

Were they really... ever gonna be like a real family?

Or were they already one? But an imperfect one?

She slowly... let her hands fall and the berries drop out of her arms. Sighing, she looked to where she knew Manic and Shadow should be, "I got the food... some of them aren't stabbed... hehe..." She tried to play off her pondering emotions and licked her claws again. "They're good, at least." she teased.

No one answered...

"Shadow?" she called, trying to look over the foliage and tree trucks. "Manic?"

But no one answered.

She narrowed her eyes... and began to sneak around to see what she could find.

As she twisted herself through the bush, she let out a quiet gasp and plugged her mouth, seeing Manic and Shadow each tied up by what looked like shadowy vines that clung and tightened with their struggling movement.

In her surprise, she comically looked for somewhere that could conceal herself. So while still covering her mouth, she dived into what looked like a mossy patch near some water, and let the moss cushion her hasty fall to hide.

"Chaos... Spear!" Shadow was able to shoot out some beams to hit back Mephilis and Scourge's team, but Scourge took out a knife with a refined blade and held it to Manic, then a gun with a black coating and held it to Shadow's head.

The others had successfully dodged the spears, and snickered at their futile attempts.

"You can't contain me, I'm-!" Shadow began but realized these shadows had a strange power to them... he didn't realize they were infused with his own shadow... thus making them successfully able to contain him and his own power.

"Quick the light spectacle and realize when you're beat." Scourge pressed the gun's barrel against Shadow to move his head back against the tree they were tied up too. Manic couldn't reach his necklace, but Mephilis saw his attempts.

Floating on some shadows with his arms out wide, he turned to instruct Scourge, "Rip that silly trinket by his neck... Let him know true despair, when one holds no power, and takes everything away from you..." sadistically, he held up his hand, as if a dark sense of torment was awakening once again in him. He crushed his fists together, "I want to see the look of helplessness... as I take that light of hope from his eyes..."

"Oui! What'd I say about you giving me orders?!" Scourge flicked the knife under the necklace, "Only I'm allowed to do that!" twisting the sharp side of the blade to his necklace's bond around his neck, he yanked it off of him, pulling back the band and making his neck snap a little back as he tried to resist having his precious, childhood power and gift removed from him.

"Nooo..!" Manic saw the magical necklace fly through the air, glistening in and flipping through the gaps of light through the trees... his most precious possession left to him, which reminded him of his beloved mother... like having his family torn from him when he was an infant. It fell to the dirty soil and barely made a noise, due to the soft ground beneath...

He hunched a little, already seeming defeated by not having any special abilities, and now... not even having his only means to fight back besides his natural struggling force. "Now... I'm really mad." Manic gritted his teeth, some tears forming on the sides of his eyes. "I won't let you get away with this... with hurting Ember... or with taking any of my family from me!" he looked up with eyes full of righteous vengeance.

Shadow had never seen this side of Manic before, and it surprised him somewhat, but now was not the time to be in awe. Instead, he noticed that Manic and Scourge had created a kind of opening. This distraction allowed him to sneakily reach back and get a firm touch on his communication device. Swiftly, and trying to be discreet about it, his G.U.N training kicked in and he began typing in coordinates for Rouge and Tails. Hoping the signal wouldn't get spotted by the others... Shadow hid the device under his gloved wrist as it sent the code, however, transferring it to the others remotely was going to take some time...

Mephilis, highly sensitive to Shadow's movements, rose his head in Manic's defiant spirit and tenacious attitude, but sensed something off with Shadow. He was delighting in Manic's sorrow and frustration, but that would have to wait for now...

"He's fidgeting too much..." Mephilis lifted his hand and in a whirlwind of speed, slashed Shadow in the head and knocked him out. "There... that's better... Hahahah!" his infamous laugh carried through the forest, as Ember's hands twitched in rage.

Her Cursed Emerald began to glow...

"Heh, I like your style." Scourge used the bunt side of the gun to knock out Manic from his neck, "Now what? Where's the girl!?" Scourge turned to Mephilis, pointing the gun to him... "I think you already figured this out but... I don't like to be kept waiting..."

Ember couldn't contain her rage anymore, the insanity from the Cursed Emerald drove her out of hiding, her emotions spiraling out of control. This wasn't the first time, but she wanted it to desperately be the last time anyone messed with her friends and life. 'I'm tired of people telling me not to fight!' she felt her body lose control as she ran on all fours to defend her beloved family...

"RRAHHH!" She jumped into the air, the curse in full swing as her entire body was filled with her insanity mode flaring to life. "Let them go!" Black flames burst from her purple emerald, and Mephilis's eyes reflected their glow.

"Yeeess... You'll do nicely." He seemed fixated on the dark power it contained, seeing it as the perfect host for this new timeline.

Her eyes burned white as she came down, but Mephilis moved quickly back, floating on his shadows as the earth shook and cracked under her power.

"Alright! An ultimate showdown! At last!" Scourge readied himself, but Mephilis drifted in front of him, his shadows like a catching up behind him. "What!? What are you..? Out of my way, freak!"

He shot the back of Mephilis's head, "I'm tired of this game!" But Mephilis's head just bent forward with every shot, and it was clear nothing was penetrating through his crystal hide... The bullets looked squished and condensed upon impact with his quills.

He slowly turned back... "I'll deal with you... after my form becomes permanent in this world..." He was fading, but reached out to Ember, "I can kill Shadow, and he has the power to destroy your beloved friend as well..." He then gestured to Scourge and Manic. "What will you choose? Immortal... a prototype? You were made to be a mistake, to learn from... But with me, I can give you your ultimate purpose..." He lifted his arms up into the air, showing the half-destroyed moon. "There must be revenge that you seek... much like your figurative brother..." He slowly turned his attention back to her. "I have the means to control your cursed emerald... join to me, child of error, and I shall make you the key to all destruction!" he clenched a fist up by her, showing his resolve to want to 'help' her.

However, Ember—still wild—had already broken through Scourge's goons that had come around from behind, and slowly hunched over at Mephilis's words.

The Destructix's lay panting on the ground, remembering last time... and knowing they're efforts were futile.

Even Scourge looked pathetically over to them, seeing that without Mephilis, taking Ember head-on again might be a bad idea...

Her eyes seemed vast and hollow, as though Mephilis's words meant nothing in this state. Instead, they were simply filled with the power of negative chaos energy...

"You have a choice..." Mephilis began, speaking plainly as he could tell that Ember was no longer present, but only the Cursed Emerald's protective recognition remained. "Surrender yourself to me... or let me take over your current host's form." he flicked his fingers out, before jamming his claws into Shadow's side again. "Otherwise... I make your host's life even worse... more alone than ever before... and you, the soul who reigns over her... forever. Hahahaha!" he had figured it out, her emotions got the better of her and let out it's full power. He truly was clever, and using Shadow as a trigger, hoped the Cursed Emerald would be fueled off of her emotions, and get even stronger. "Do you now see where my loyalty lies? Now... let us join together! We shall rule this world with a burning blaze!"

Ember's power skyrocketed as her body jerked forward and then back, seeing Shadow reel back in pain before going unconscious again. It was as though the amount of empathy felt in that moment gave Ember's body the same amount of pain as it saw Shadow endure.

"Mortal... immortal... nothing escapes fate." Mephilis pulled out his claws, his shadows released Shadow from his bonds around the tree truck and he fell forward. Mephilis never ceased in his dark pleasure of torment and pain, laughing and laughing in his sadistic delights, leaning his head back as though to gloat and strike envy. "It never gets old... seeing the fear and hatred on their faces... when I kill all they care about..." Was he speaking to himself? Or to Scourge?

Now it didn't matter what he knew about Shadow's future, it was clear he wanted a ill fate for him, and for Ember as well... Though trapped inside her own mind, Ember clawed for redemption. 'Manic... everyone... if I let this fiend live, he'll tear apart the whole of what I've found!' she pounded against the dark energies that kept her locked up tight. 'My emotions... they're not meant for evil! Cursed Emerald... you're not cursed anymore! You're my power! And I choose to use you to protect my family!"

Mephilis all at once... became her new G.U.N.

Getting a momentary grip on herself, Ember reached into her chest, scratching and digging to try and pull the Cursed Emerald out of her. 'I can't lose him!' she began to cry through the searing pain as her claws bore into her flesh. However, it was instantly healing itself, burning to seal the scars she was making. She couldn't pull it out, and it wouldn't be ripped from her either... soon, it back-lashed and forced her into a full state of control, meaning that it now had full power over her... and was completely consumed in her emotions once again.

"Join me, Cursed one!" Mephilis spread his shadows around her, but the Cursed Emerald controlling Ember's body tilted its head, only interested in destruction.

Bursting into raw chaos energy, Ember's body looked more like a giant, standing wolf than anything else... her power radiated into a beast in it's rising aura...

Mephilis was slightly taken aback, "This power... Iblis would be pleased." He laughed, "Very well, I shall take you on!"

Dark orbs were thrown towards Ember's body, but she shredded through them with her dark energy claws, her true form hidden within the massive dark aura-wolf. It blasted the shadows away that tried to consume the Cursed Emerald, showing that it wouldn't be taken without a fight.

Manic's head looked up, feeling the shadows loosen and weaken from around him as he fell down from the tree he was tied too. "What... what happened?" he looked to his necklace, and reached for it in a sudden moment of clarity.

"Ah-ah-ah." Scourge kicked it away, mimicking Sonic's infamous finger wiggle and grabbing him into a choke hold. "Who said you were allowed to wake up!?"

As Manic struggled, trying to reach for a punch, it was clear Scourge was stronger than him. "Hahaha! Pathetic! She chose you over me!?" He raised an eyebrow, "I'll let Mephilis weaken her down a bit first, after all, I tried to fight her and look where that got me?"

He threw Manic as he slammed against the tree, falling back down and struggling to get up.

"But you? That's the easy part. You don't have your precious little girlfriend to protect you." He pulled out his gun, firing off some bullets as Manic rolled on the ground to dodge them. "Darn that Dark... he took all my bullets like it was nothing..." Scourge rolled his shoulders back, arching his steps around Manic and tossing the gun after it seemed emptied of bullets. "Guess we'll do this the old fashion way..." He took his knife and and then stomped directly on Manic's necklace, making Manic look up and glare in his pain.

"You're gonna end up just like him..." Scourge flicked his head to Shadow's limp form, as Manic gasped, seeing it.

"Shadow! No!" he cried out. "Shadow! Get up! Ember needs-!"

"Nothing but death!" Scourge laughed, "Same's gonna come to you, and I'm not sorry. Let's consider it a mercy kill, eh? You don't have to see your doggy dame maimed before your eyes!"

But as soon as he said that, Manic jumped at him and began to push back, grabbing his arms. "I may not be as strong as you... but I'm ten times more clever than you!" he slid his foot between Scourge's feet, then pulled it back around his foot to have him trip and fall backwards.

Manic's drum necklace skidded from the action over the ground. Manic reached and grabbed it with a tumble, rolling before having it glow in his hands. "And she picked me because I'm handsomer shade of green than you! The ones that not representative of envy!" Manic summoned his drums, then took out his drumsticks and began warming up with a drum roll. "I don't think you can take this beat, Scourge!" he began to fire off sonic booms from his drums, pushing and shoving Scourge down, as the knife in his hand was pulsed back by its sonic power.

"Grr..! No!" Scourge used his super sonic speed to start moving to dodge each drum beat. "You think you're stronger than your own anti-brother!?" but right before reaching the drums and seeing the white in Manic's worried eyes as Scourge reached out for him...

"HRRAHH!" Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles jumped from the bushes, tackling into Scourge as Manic stopped playing in awe.

"Everyone!" Manic's eyes widened and then relaxed in relief. "Thank you." He breathed out, and then looked to see Shadow starting to get up on his feet, gripping his torn and pierced side.

He crawled towards Ember's insane, dark aura-wolf form as though desperate to reach her.

"Em...ber..." He stumbled to his feet, but looked a bit woozy from the loss of blood. "I'm... com-...ing..."

"Shadow!" Manic unsummoned his drums and kept a firm grip on his magical necklace, but grabbed Shadow to help him stand better. "What'd he do to you?"

"Urk... She... needs my... help." He tried to move forward, but Manic helped him not fall.

"I know, I know! But she'd never forgive me if I didn't help you first!" Manic looked to see Scourge's crew start coming too, and Ember's insane form fighting Mephilis. "This looks ugly... I know you guys recover fast, what do you need me to do?"

Shadow gave him one look, and he knew.

Save Ember...

for me, in my place.

Mephilis began compiling all his being into one, super mass of his collective consciousness. "Now... you're mine!" as though a miniature storm, flashes of lightning formed around the purple mass as the shadows circled all around it quickly, helping to move it towards Ember's insanity frame. Diving into Ember's form, other shadows leaped up from the shade of the trees to tie her down as she remained on her feet, growling and straining against their takeover.

"At last... though not Iblis... you and I shall be... Cursembaris!" Mephilis's ball of dark energy blasted the dark aura-wolf as it howled in defiance, but was absorbed into his purple and blue darkness, which then engulfed Ember's body.

No matter the power of the Cursed Emerald, Mephilis the Dark soon sealed himself in fire within it's core...

The shining emerald suddenly dulled with shadows, and soon...

"I can't waste another moment..! You're power must fuse with mine, or I will fade from existence of all worlds! I can't fight any longer without a host... You will do nicely! Hahahaha!" Mephilis got her down to her knees, as her form took on a crystallized state, and her eyes shifted to Mephilis's own...

Suddenly, her form was overwhelmed by flames, bursting up and spreading out to form her into light that mixed with his shadows.

The fire raged and burnt the ground beneath as she was lifted into the air, and then made into a black flame, crystallized, large wolf.

Cursembaris looked at it's new body... moving up to its full height, it laughed manically in a monstrous howl that blasted the wind back and forced the others to brace against the wind storm.

Suddenly, with the power of a cursed chaos emerald, it summoned many shadows. All resembled his previous form: Mephilis, and a deadly horde began to materialize to finish off Mephilis's original goal as Solaris.

"Now... to finish off this world... and burn it all, as I have promised you, Scourge... Hahaha!" Mephilis's voice was mixed with Ember's, and their laughter was more fine-tuned, making it sound even more sinister than before...

"Grk..!" Manic forced himself up, his drums ready for battle again. "I've fought you once and held my own! Release Ember, now!" he hit the drums hard, but the fused creation just flicked his wolf's paw, and thousands of the shadow-horde began to run towards Manic.

Cursembaris laughed through it's crystallized body as though cackling howls from rocks banging against an echoing cave... Ember's voice being drowned out by Mephilis. It stalked around the battlefield as though eyeing its prey, watching Manic desperately fight back against the horde. It kept it's head low, readying to pounce at any moment...

The shadows were destroyed by different drumbeat sonic booms, but Manic was already feeling the weariness setting in. Gritting his teeth, he tried to send the blasts where they needed to go.

"This world will be too easy..." Mephilis mused, holding a clawed, crystal paw out, as though ready to hunt. "I will destroy the ultimate life form... take out Sonic once and for all,... and then leave you as a toothpick for when I'm bored!" Cursembaris's snarl spewed fire through its bared teeth. This was driving Manic insane, he hated it with a deep passion and anger, hearing Ember's lovely voice mingled with such evil.

Shadow, still hunched over, brought out his hand to his side, 'I can't let this stand... I won't lose her. I won't lose anyone else!' He looked up at his sister, seeing a form which he didn't know or understand. His fist tightened, "I had to let you go once... I won't do it again!" He took off his limiters, preparing himself as he stored his power up. "Chaos... spears!" he was able to successfully target a few spears that pierced through the shadows, having them automatically disintegrate and then strike through Cursembaris's crystal hide. They were made of pure light and chaos energy, stabbing with an effect into a dark being like Mephilis and the Cursed Emerald meant it began to weaken the shadows around it, causing actual damage.

It's crystal wolf body was jammed back with each successful spear glowing an area of effect around it, spreading light through its being...

"Hopefully... you can... push through it..." Shadow fell back to his knees, then fell down as his body began to recover and forced him to yield.

It's head slowly looked up to Shadow after examining itself, and almost with concern, it stared... until Mephilis's voice, the dominant sound, rang through again in it's muffled cry. "You'd injure your own sister..? For the sake of the world..? Shadow... I never thought you so cruel..."

Shadow frowned openly, his fangs bared, gripping his injured side as he twitched helpless on the ground. "I'm not aiming for her..!"

Cursembaris tilted it's head, then turned to see Scourge had fought off Sonic, throwing him off of him but seeing his team still apprehended. He glared to it and charged, jumping and grabbing the Cursed Emerald in glowing purple as he was burned by its natural protection of itself. "My turn!" his eyes blazed with power... though the Cursed Emerald wanted to lash back and fight, it was being controlled by Mephilis... So it could only sear him for now...

"This power is meant to be mine!" Scourge used all his imbued Master Emerald strength to try and force the Cursed Emerald out. The natural repulsion was actually working in his favor... The gem began to move out from the spiraling flames and dark purple mist... Thanks to Shadow's Chaos Spears still giving the creature splotches of yellow glowing light to weaken Mephilis's control and power over it.

"N...Nooo!" Mephilis, weakened by the now exploding Chaos Spears Shadow had thrown, felt them pulse off with every hit from Manic's other light and sound based attack...

Soon, Scourge's tug-o-war was actually succeeding, as his gloves were consumed in flame, his insane smirk never left him.

Manic's feelings pounded the drums with a powerful beat that exploded his sonic booms to push Mephilis back and Scourge closer to pulling the Cursed Emerald out. Shadow watched as he flicked his fingers and wrists, letting the Chaos Spears go off one by one in rhythm with Manic's attacks.

Howling into whimpers, Cursembaris reeled its massive form skyward, leaning its head back in the pain and slowly defusing at Scourge's persistence.

"Nooo..! I refuse to lose! I must at least destroy Sonic The Hedgehog! The Iblis Trigger!" Mephilis began to fade... his time running out. He turned to Sonic and his gang, who were unsure of how to approach the creature without getting burned. Bringing out the pure Chaos Emeralds, Sonic turned Super, and stared into the magma stones that made the being's eyes... dead in their centers as his form glowed the same way the Chaos Spears had...

"You want some?" He gestured to his new, light-based form. "Come and get me!" he bolted off at incredible speeds, flying behind Cursembaris and charging into it's neck. Digging his way through, Sonic pushed and punched the Cursed Emerald towards Scourge, helping to remove it.

According to Tails, if the Cursed Emerald was removed from Mephilis, Ember would return. He noticed the shift of polarity around the two converging timelines that were still being affected by Mephilis's presence, and determined that if they stalled long enough, Mephilis the Dark would fade from this reality, his own being wiped out in the process...

"Why... can't I... fight back?!" Mephilis's voice rang through as Cursembaris swung it's head around, trying to resist the urge to create more destruction and hacok. With all these forcing whamming into it, causing great damage to the Dark forces controlling it, the light side began to shine through...

It leaned it's head up, it's eyes filling with the white fire that Ember's would have had if still in her insanity mode.

"I ... won't... hurt... my family."

Ember's voice... was finally in control.

Scourge—at last—had gripped a Chaos Spear that hadn't exploded yet, feeling his hands burn from the light of that as well as the whipping backlash from the Cursed Emerald, and ripped it out of place. He forced it deeper into the beast, jamming it behind the Cursed Emerald and desperately trying to excavate it out as he wiggled the Chaos Spear around to hopefully pull it lose. Finally, he ripped Ember's fusion out from Mephilis as he faded away in a blaze of glory.

"Ah... HAAA...ahhhhh..." Mephilis's form began to drift towards the ground, as Ember's landed in ashes... "Now... I shall truly be... forgotten..." Mephilis's consciousness, a purple mass of shadows, slowly dwindled out on the ground... a puddle becoming less and less... before all at once... getting blown gently out of reality and time...

Ember opened her eyes gently, seeing the ash below her clawed fingers drift as scourged sunglasses tank'ed against the ground near her. As Mephilis disappeared, Super Sonic slowly returned down to the ground, and looked around for Scourge. "Where is he..? What..?" He saw the sunglasses, as Ember seemed to refuse to reach for them.

Super Sonic remained silent, horrified but also dropping his jaw at the fact that the heat had been so intense that perhaps... Scourge was was burnt into oblivion too...

He turned his head down and closed his eyes, but in his moment for the dead, Scourge was glowing green behind him. "Aw, I'm touched." and then sucker-punched Sonic. "But if that emerald won't budge, I'll kill her and take it for myself!" Hearing that he may try and fuse with the Cursed Emerald, Ember slowly got up, clutching her now completely black and soot-covered chest... forcing herself upright.

Shadow gripped his side and stumbled over to Manic, giving him a nod. He knew now that Manic would do whatever it took to protect Ember and keep her safe. Giving him a thumbs up... he turned to Ember, mouthed words she only wished she could have heard... and then collapsed.

"Shadow!" Manic didn't leave his drums again, seeing Scourge crash Super Sonic against multiple trees and then grab Ember, still trying to control her power.

However,...

"You never learn..." Ember muttered, sending him back in a backlash as she moved her arm and let him grab the Cursed Emerald again, but was blown so far away in its fury... She then, seeing the damage done, knew what last thing she should try.

Surrendering fully to its cursed power, she leaned her body back. "Shadow... I love you too. I won't forget again... that you accept the good I see in Manic, and that you don't want to lose me just as much... as I'd hate to lose you too." She let out some tears, as the Cursed Emerald began its last stand at defending itself. "Manic... I've seen you struggle, and do everything within your power to protect me... I won't forget this... I won't forget your love and devotion. Even if you only have the power of a mortal... you fought an immortal cause. You have gained your victory... And I will love you forever." Then she spread her arms out, "I'll remember... but you won't need too... This awful fate... that threatened my friends and family... will never be again." She closed her eyes, as Manic tried to run to her, "Chaos... Unleashed." A huge white light engulfed the entire area...

Time was rewritten, as is what the power of the Chaos Emeralds can do... though this power was reversed in that it could completely rewrite fate only if severely threatened by removal and/or death.

Ember was sitting down with Manic after the concert, leaning on his shoulder. 'Finally... Peace.' she thought to herself, proud that she was able to muster the courage to perform after all the emotional and painful turmoil of the time that never was...

Only she alone remembered... Shadow's figurative blessing to Manic in a simple accepting thumbs-up, and that mysterious figure that she still didn't know who or what he was... She had already called Shadow to warn him about Scourge's escape and they found him right away. It was as though she saved her family without a single soul knowing about it.

'Good... who needs another gloat, anyway?' she joked within her mind, smiling as Manic kissed her forehead, still thinking she was just calming down from stage fright.

Shadow's Chaos Spears had weakened both Mephilis and the Cursed Emerald's power, allowing Scourge to pull her out. Then, when the spears disappeared, Ember had control over her insanity power for a split second, and used it to go back... knowing Mephilis wouldn't be there to screw up her future this time... But the unleashed Chaos came with a price...

She leaned up to look at Manic, "When I predicted Scourge's eventual escape, I also told Shadow how much you cared about me... I think he's willing to see that I want time with him... and with you, too." she gently put her hand into his, grasping it lightly. "Is that alright?" she looked down as though shyly to his hand.

He chuckled to himself, growing nervous. "W-what? What brought that up all of a sudden?" He rubbed behind his quills, but she fiddled with his long-hanging bangs as he smiled warmly to her. "Did you learn my secret?"

"What secret?" she looked away, pretending like she didn't know he wanted Shadow's blessing. She had heard a lot through Mephilis's fusion with her, and his shadows and knowledge of them were something she was able to discover. Though... she still didn't understand his reasoning when she searched his mind for 'Iblis Trigger' or 'Solaris'. It was all too confusing, anyway, and she didn't stay fused for too long either.

But his influence over her was still there... the longing for destruction, the cunning and manipulation... her Cursed Emerald's flame would never glow the same...

"Never you mind how I know things~" she teased, fanning them away and disregarding her own sinister thoughts that she would push away. She was strong enough to resist whatever power was still infused in her emerald... she didn't care. She only wanted to use her power to protect those she cared about. The power would be used for nothing else, "Just come here and tell me what a great singer I was tonight..." she cupped his face, knowing he really did try everything to protect her in that other, erased timeline now. They kissed very sweetly, but he soon pulled her into a deeper, more passionate moment.

"You sang like a dark angel." he slowly moved over her, as she spread her back slowly against the stage's floor, letting him make his way over her. "Like a siren through the sea of lights..." She was feeling her heart rate escalate with the moment when...

Suddenly, a voice came from the rafters.

"Now, now, you two." The alluring woman's voice slyly added, "Play nice! After all, I'd hate to tell Shadow that when he sent me to look after you, that you and your new boyfriend —who he so graciously allowed for you to be with —were being naughty..."

Rouge's voice rang a thousand times in Ember's ears and mind when she pulled away from Manic and shook her fist in frustration. "SHHHADDDOWW!" she whined in disapproval, not liking that he sent Rouge to spy on her, still thinking her a child.

"Hmph!" she folded her arms, turning from Manic and pouting. "He still can't trust me!?"

Manic just laughed, "Ohhh, now I see the family resemblance!" he pointed to her frown and then clutched his head and stomach, belting out a hardy, but joyous cascade of laughter.

She couldn't help it, she may be imperfect but so was the rest of the world. She had a family... and no matter what twists in time or space was brought their way, they would always love each other, and want to spend time with one another.

That brought her peace. Love and family, imperfect people being perfect for each other.

She hugged Manic and laughed too, enjoying the moment with him, as Rouge smiled sweetly down to them and then flew off, giving them their alone time and space... since this was the timeline within this universe's space that they could do so... without any distractions or restraints~!

END.

#ember's story #ember the immortal wolf #cutegirlmayra #marydragnell #commission receipt #me commissions #me commission receipt #ember story #me writing #commissions

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leupagus · 6 years ago

Text

you will miss the green and the woods and streams

A Schitt’s Creek AU thing I wrote for @broadlybrazen, which boils down to “lol what if Schitt’s Creek had been Schitt Records can you imagine.”

You’re welcome/I’m sorry.

***

“Okay, but why are you making me do this.” David doesn’t ask, because it’s not a question; it’s a declaration, something he’s learned in the long years since he and Stevie were coworkers, then friends, then — something, almost, not quite — and now they’re people who drag each other to shitty bars in shitty basements in shitty Toronto, except only Stevie is that.

“I’m not making you do anything,” Stevie lies right to his actual face as they collect her beer and his wine from the bartender. “You offered to comfort me.”

“I don’t think I said ‘comfort’ so much as I said ‘support you in your time of—‘“ he waves at her generally, carefully not to spill. “Loss, or whatever.”

Not that Jake qualifies as a loss, per se; he hadn’t even tried to get out of the contract, which Stevie keeps saying is the important thing. And David of all people knows that above-average sex can only take you so far when the other guy is an emotionally illiterate carpenter/rockstar who responded to a breakup text with “bummer :P”

“Well, this is you supporting me.” Stevie takes a swig and leans back against the bar; David admires the clean line of her neck and chest the way he’s done a thousand times before, absentminded appreciation the way he looks at a beautiful coat or listens to a new record; letting it slip through his fingers, like everything else.

“You’re not…performing, are you,” David doesn’t-ask.

Stevie gives him a long look. “You’ve known me for over two years,” she says, even. “Do you think I’m likely to break out into song?”

“You’re a talent scout for a major record label,” he feels obliged to point out.

“Uh, first of all, it’s not major, and second of all, so are you,” she says.

This is, sadly, irrefutable.

When Ira disappeared to God knew where with the keys to the Rose family fortune, their lawyer had pulled them all into the living room with a chipper expression and a folder. David hadn’t listened, the sounds of furniture, paintings, his life being carted out the door overwhelming everything else. But Dad’s voice cut through.

“Schitt Records? That was a joke—“ and it still is a joke, almost two and a half years later. The biggest joke in the music industry, and David hears the laughter everywhere he goes.

Roland Schitt had been managing his wife and an extremely chipper singer-songwriter who went by “Twyla” and did tarot card readings after every set. Schitt Records was worth approximately nothing; probably why the government had let them keep it. When Dad finally exercised his ownership clause and made Roland an ex-officio (read: non-voting) board member, Roland had actually cackled with delight and wished them all the best, taking his “President of” title and a small stipend with him. Jocelyn and Twyla stuck around, although David still isn’t sure that Twyla’s all that aware of the change in management.

And anyway, as far as David’s concerned, the only thing of value at Schitt Records, at least at first, was Stevie.

They’d put Alexis back in the studio for want of any better ideas; David had found a semi-decent, semi-sober songwriter to give her some of the songs Meghan and Ariana had rejected. “Pullin’ Up Alexis” didn’t so much as crack the top 200 but it had put Schitt Records in the black, at least, even if Alexis did go white-faced and brittle at the awful venues David coaxed her into for the better part of a year — county fairs and no-name festivals where the audience wanted to jeer and heckle, where her dancing would get her laughed offstage if her singing didn’t. But every time he’d tell her she could quit (she couldn’t) and that they’d find another way to get the company on its feet (they wouldn’t), she’d lift her chin and smile and ask her where they were going next, and David loved her more than he’d ever, ever tell her.

And when the tour ended, David gritted his teeth and went out with Stevie to find something else. They found Ronnie, who hates them all but has hands like an angel on the piano; Jake who’s prettier onstage than off but who can draw a reliable crowd; even Ray, whose one-man band act is surprisingly lucrative, though David suspects that’s because anyone who listens can’t actually believe what’s happening.

Schitt Records still isn’t worth buying, but it’s worth something, now; worth spending late nights in small towns, worth sleepless weekends working festivals, worth more than David had ever expected to find.

But he’s still looking, he knows, for something else.

Even more insultingly, the open mic has a theme; “90’s Nostalgia!” which means too many bad covers of Alanis and one truly offensive attempt at “I Will Always Love You” that has David ordering his next glass of wine in a pint glass.

Stevie is laughing, though — she’s happy, in tune with the crowd who are clearly here for their respective friends onstage, leading the shaky ones through their choruses and cheering with far more enthusiasm than is merited when each of them wraps up.

“This is horrifying,” David tells her as some guy in his 60s gets gently ushered offstage and there’s a blessed lull.

“I know,” Stevie replies, eyes shining. “It’s great.”

And it is, in a weird way that David would never have enjoyed in his other life; he would never have set foot in here, would never have been friends with someone as grounded and solid and plaid as Stevie in the first place. So he takes a drink and doesn’t suggest they leave, but does pick a fight about sending Ray to ACL.

Stevie obligingly takes the bait and they’re halfway through the comfortable old argument about riders when David realizes the strummy-strummy lala in the background is a) recognizable, b) good, and c) infuriating.

The guy onstage is best described as “unprepossessing accountant,” wearing an ugly shirt and ugly slacks and uglier shoes and an astonishingly ugly fringed vest that’s probably (hopefully) a joke, judging by the wolf whistles from a table near the stage. But he’s got a smile like a searchlight as he rounds the corner of the first verse:

“I’m caught up in the midst of you And I cannot resist…”

David flails around until he makes contact with Stevie’s — okay, her face, which she’ll probably complain about later, but he’s too incensed. “He’s singing Mariah?”

Stevie swats his hand away. “He’s not bad.”

“I—“ David clutches at his pint glass. Fringed Vest, still grinning into the crowd and unaware of David’s newborn vendetta against him, continues.

Boy, if I do The things you want me to The way I used to do Would you love me, baby Hold me, feeling now Go and break my heart

The entire bar joins in on the chorus, Fringed Vest leading them like some hick accountant Pied Piper:

Heartbreaker, you got the best of me But I just keep on coming back incessantly Oh, why did you have to run your game on me I should have known right from the start You'd go and break my heart

Fringed Vest does not, thank God, try his hand at rapping the break but the crowd seems reluctant to let him actually finish the song, the choruses getting progressively louder and more boisterous until Fringed Vest puts a line underneath and steps back from the mic and they finally take the goddamn hint.

“That was—“ awful, he’s about to say, but the problem is that it wasn’t. There’s not a whole lot a Canadian accountant can add to Mariah Carey, especially with the advent of Lip Synch Battle. But it hadn’t felt patronizing or mocking; Fringed Vest knew every word, sang with a voice that couldn’t hold a match to Mariah but still expressed some sort of longing. He’d been joyful, earnest where most people tonight had clung to trite. It… worked.

He’s even more enraged.

“C’mon,” Stevie says, slipping through the crowd with the weary ease of someone who’s been doing this half her life. David tromps behind in her wake, bumping up against the same people Stevie glides past and almost losing her twice before she gets to the dinky curtain that is the backstage and ducking inside.

Which smells like vomit; David immediately flips through the various acts tonight and makes a bet with himself that it was the very sweet otter with the beard and the accordion even while Stevie is making her way over to the side of the stage where Fringed Vest is talking to somebody else and drinking — god, Red Mountain, David is vetoing any contract Stevie tries to push on this guy for that alone.

But Stevie’s introducing them and Fringed Vest extends a hand. “Patrick,” he says, grip firm. Up close he’s — not attractive, exactly, no eyebrows to speak of and a haircut that screams middle management, that smile still the most interesting thing about him. But it’s very interesting.

“David,” he admits, aware of Stevie’s narrowed eyes.

“David Rose,” Patrick says, worryingly. “You own Schitt Records.”

He blinks; this is possibly the first time anyone’s said the name of the company without smirking. “Co-own,” he corrects.

“You manage a friend of mine,” Patrick continues, “Ray? Butani?”

“We only manage one Ray, don’t worry,” Stevie tells him.

“How are you friends with Ray?” David demands. “He plays a vibraphone.”

“We both went to Rotman,” and that explains so much about both Ray and Patrick. “He was pretty excited when he signed.”

“Yes, the glamour of the pub circuit,” David says. “Who can resist the allure of all this,” and he almost hits a girl with beads in her hair and a banjo in her hand climbing onstage.

“It’s got its charms,” Patrick says, still smiling.

#schitt's creek #david/patrick #schitt records #schittalking #ficcage of interest #this story happened mainly because I finally bit the bullet and listened to Noah Reid's album #which hit all my 'very impressed‚ was not embarrassed at all‚ and I thought I would be' buttons #and was like 'oh no what if Patrick had written this instead'

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poisonivysparks · 6 years ago

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Love and Paintbrushes {Hank McCoy X Reader}

"Okay, all you guys need to do for homework is read pages 267-270. Now, get out of my classroom!" I told all of my students, laughing, while they walked out of my class.

"Miss Y/n?" Ororo walked up to me, her books in her hands.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ororo? Please just call me Y/n." I told her, picking up my own things.

"Alright," She smiled. "I was thinking maybe you could teach an art class. You are an amazing artist and I think that everybody would love an art class, since we do not have one already." She asked me, her pretty accent shining through.

"Do you really think I could do that?" I asked her, a little skeptical, maybe somebody had put her up to that, taking advantage of her.

"Yes, I really think that you should do it. Scott, Jean, Peter, Warren, and Kurt all agree with me." She told me while we walked out of the classroom together.

"I'll go ask Professor Xavier tonight, okay? I promise." I told her as we parted ways.

"Have a good afternoon, Miss Y/n!" She waved back at me while I started walking towards the teacher's lounge.

"Hey, Hank!" I waved to my friend, who was also walking into the teacher's lounge.

I kind of had a crush on him since we had met in '61, I had stayed with him and Charles most of my adult life, I had stayed when everybody went to war, when we had to save Raven from killing Trask in '73, and I had to stay when the weird blue guy had kidnapped Charles and tried to take over the world. It was more of a schoolgirl's crush than anything, and maybe it was all of the time that I spent with teens, but I didn't know. I had a feeling that he liked Raven, instead of me, so I never thought to chase any of my feelings.

"Hey, Y/n." He smiled at me while I caught up to him. "Did you have any trouble with your classes today?"

"I didn't have any trouble at all, but Ororo suggested that I should start an art class." I told him, grabbing a cup of coffee.

"That's a great idea, Y/n." He poured coffee in his thermos and started drinking it, completely black, just like I liked it. "You're a great artist, and I have no idea why we didn't think of it sooner. I bet Charles'd like that idea."

"I heard my name, are you two talking about me behind my back?" Charles wheeled in behind us, making me jump, and make my coffee float.

I quickly put it back in the mug and said: "Nah, Ororo had suggested I start an art class, and I wanted to run it by you first."

He chuckled a bit, "I think that's a wonderful idea, my dear. When would you like to do it?"

"I was thinking that maybe it could be an extracurricular after school," I told him, sitting on the couch with Hank.

"That's a great plan, should I say something at dinner?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That'd be nice, how about, for the time, 3:15 tomorrow." I smiled as he started wheeling out of the room,

"Alright, I will see you guys at dinner." He waved while Hank smiled brightly at me, his teeth showing.

"You're going to do great, I know you will." He encouraged me. "I have to go to the Danger Room to teach, do you want to come with me?"

"I don't have anything better to do, so, yeah." I got up and he grabbed my hand, leading me through the crowded hallways to an elevator, my face beet red.

He let go of my hand once we reached the elevator and pressed the buttons to go down to the Danger Room, Peter zooming in at the last second.

"So, you two, huh?" He asked, crossing his arms and smirking.

"Peter, you ask that every damn time Hank and I are in a room together. How many times do I have to tell you no?" I pinched the bridge of my nose, he was fucking annoying sometimes.

"As many as it takes to get you two together." He smiled and shot out of the elevator, once it opened, and my face flushed, once again.

We walked to the Danger Room, everybody was already lined up in a neat and orderly line.

"Miss Y/n, what are you doing here? Mr. McCoy usually teaches training." Kurt walked up to us, breaking the line.

"I was invited, don't worry about it." I smiled at him as he smiled at both of us.

"Okay." He went back to the line, all of them had slight smiles on their faces, I had no idea why, and I doubt Hank had any idea either.

Raven came in and briefed them, gave them a pep talk, and Hank started the machine up, sentinels came out of the wall, but they weren't the same as the ones in '73.

The teens did really well, not getting hurt or anything. It lasted for about a half hour, Raven yelling at people to straighten their form, things like that.

Hank shut it off and everybody was sweaty and tired from working, Ororo was still smiling widely when she came over to me.

"Did you ask yet?" She asked, obviously excited.

"I did, and it starts tomorrow at 3:15, in my classroom." I smiled at her while her eyes widened.

"Yes!" She cheered, pumping her arms in the air. "The others are going to be thrilled! I must go tell them." She ran off to the others as Raven walked over to me.

"So, you're starting an art class?" She asked.

"Yeah, 'Roro suggested it." I told her while Hank pressed some buttons, probably resetting it.

"Well, I think it's a great idea."

"Thank you, also, are you doing anything tonight? I thought that maybe we could go shopping together." I asked her, kind of nervous, since we hadn't really hung out before.

"Sure, I'd like that." She smiled. "We haven't done anything together in a while."

"How about after dinner?" We walked out together, leaving Hank behind.

"I'd love that, Y/n." She got in the elevator with everybody else, but I stayed behind to wait for Hank.

"I had to reset the Danger Room, sorry about that." Hank rushed over to me, his hair becoming disheveled.

"It's alright, Hank. We can just catch the next elevator up." I told him positively.

"I actually need to grab something from the lab, real quick, want to come with?" He asked, trying to fix his vest, but ultimately failing.

"Well, yeah, do you need my help or anything?" I asked eagerly, while we started walking to Hank's personal lab, not the lab that he taught chemistry in.

"I need help moving some things to the chemistry classroom, liquids. I don't want to spill anything." He told me, smiling.

"I can definitely do that." I smiled brightly at him while we walked into his lab, it was cluttered and messy, but it was cute how he rummaged through his things, not finding what he needed for a few minutes.

I brought what he told me to into the chemistry classroom, until he found a notebook with scribbles and doodles on the front cover.

"Okay, let's go, I found my notebook." We walked to the elevator in comfortable silence, I almost ran into the wall a couple of times, though.

~Time Skip~

"Hey, Raven!" I called out to the woman and her face lit up as I did. "When do you want to leave?"

She walked over to me. "We could leave now, if you want to." She told me while I picked up my purse.

"Well, let's go!" I energetically walked to the garage, getting in my favorite convertible that Charles had.

We silently got in the car, and I turned the ignition on, the radio blasting out some pop music.

"Goddammit, Scott!" I yelled, knowing exactly who it was, because we had the same taste in cars. Raven laughed and I turned down the radio, turning it to a rock station.

We drove about halfway there, singing along very badly to the songs that were playing, when she turned down the radio and her demeanor turned serious.

"Okay, I have to ask you something." She turned to me, a slight smile on her face. "I've noticed it ever since '60 and it's been bugging me." I knew exactly what was coming next. "Do you like Hank?"

My cheeks flushed red, and I slowed down a little bit. "N-no I don't. W-we've always just been friends, and, besides, he likes you a-anyways." I brushed it off as she laughed.

"He doesn't like me! He loves you, he's always loved you. He told me a long time ago, and he's always looked at you the same way." She told me, and my face somehow flushed an even darker shade of red.

"Noooo..." I told her, concentrating on driving.

"Don't deny it, Y/n."

~Hank's PoV~

I was hanging out with Charles in his office, we were talking about random things, and, somehow, Y/n came up.

"You like her, don't you, Hank?" Charles asked me with a sly smirk.

"No I-I don't." I mentally cursed myself for stuttering. I really did like her, she was adorable and she loved helping people and her art.

"Aww, you do. That's adorable." He chuckled and my face turned tomato red.

"I d-don't, w-we're just friends. W-we've always just been f-friends." I told him, stuttering and hiding my face.

"You really do like her, don't you?" He pushed and I gave a little nod, removing my head from my hands.

"A little bit." I admitted, the heat in my face dying down.

"I knew it!" Charles celebrated, smiling widely. "You two are so close, and it's amazing that you two haven't gotten together yet."

"She likes you, I don't have a chance." I said bitterly, looking down at the ground.

He laughed, making me cock my head in confusion. "She told me a long time ago that she likes you."

My cheeks flushed red. "Is that really t-true?"

"You tell me." He smirked and wheeled out of his office, leaving me blushing and completely confused.

~Time Skip (Y/n's PoV)~

It was time, about twenty people were lined up outside of my classroom, whispering to each other and smiling.

I invited them in, incredibly excited about what I could teach them.

Easily, I explained how to draw a landscape and the fundamentals of painting/sketching/drawing.

They were having fun as they sketched a landscape, laughing and talking with their friends. Ororo was talking with Peter, Scott, Kurt, and Jean, they were all agreeing on something as Oro giggled.

Everybody was doing very well and some of them were coming up to me, asking for paint and brushes, including Oro's group.

I was incredibly proud of myself, teaching a class besides stupid history. I was jumped out of my thoughts by a tapping on my back. I turned around and was face-to-face with Hank, well, more like face-to-chest. He was so damn tall, it was amazing.

"H-hey." I gave him a little awkward wave, a faint blush spreading across my cheeks.

"How's your class going, so far?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Really well, Hank. I'm surprised this many people showed up." I smiled, hugging him.

He looked taken aback, putting his arms up, slightly. Suddenly, he realized what was happening and hugged me back.

I was just so glad that maybe, just maybe, there was a slim chance that he liked me back. He quickly mumbled something, but I didn't quite catch it.

"What did you say, Hank?" I let go of him and some of the teens, mostly from Oro's group 'aww'ed.

"N-nothing." He stuttered, adorably, he was still that same, little, shy boy I had met all those years ago.

"I'm going to go help some people, I'll be right back, you can just sit at my desk if you'd like." I walked off as he sat in my small desk chair, his knees banging on the top of my desk.

I walked over to the group who was giggling. Quietly, I brought one of the unused stools and sat in front of them.

"Alright, what the fuck are you guys laughing about?" I smiled at them, while they laughed even harder.

"We can't help it if you two are oblivious," Peter said between fits of laughter. I frowned, confused.

"You guys are totally perfect for each other!" Ororo said, waving her paintbrush in the air. My cheeks were flushed, my own students were telling me that I liked him.

"I'm surprised you guys aren't together, already!" Kurt said, his amber eyes shining.

I suddenly noticed Peter was gone and looked around the room, finally spotting him talking to Hank. Hank's face was bright red, I assumed that Peter was doing the exact thing to Hank that everybody else was doing to me.

"Okay, how the hell do you know this?" I asked them, laughing slightly.

"It's obvious." Jean shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh God, how obvious is it?" I asked, covering my face with my hand.

"Pretty fucking obvious, Miss Y/n." Scott said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"I'll leave you guys to your paintings." I smiled, a tiny bit more confident in myself.

Peter had gone back to his seat in a flash, and I quickly pulled Hank into the hallway. My breaths were short and quick, I was completely filled with anxiety and nervousness.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Y/n?" He asked in the most innocent way.

I took a long, deep breath in. "Okay, I've been told that it's obvious that I like you, and I wanted to know if you like me back, or not?" Fears were running through my mind, and I felt like I could've died, right there and then.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly, he smiled.

"I'm, honestly, glad you asked me, because I really like you too and I've had no idea how to do anything about it and I thought you liked Charles, and I'm just so awkward around you, even though we're best friends an-"

I cut him off by smashing my lips into his, he was instantly taken aback, his lips unmoving. After he realized what was happening, he feverishly moved his lips with mine, pushing me against the wall. He was surprisingly rough, contradicting his nerdy, shy and gentle exterior. It was complete heaven, fireworks going off between us.

"Hank, we should stop, I'm teaching a class," I mumbled against his lips, my face completely red.

He pulled away and started fixing his glasses. "It's probably too early to say this but, I love you." He chuckled as I fixed my clothes and hair, making myself look like I hadn't just been making out with my best friend.

"I love you too, Hank." I kissed him one last time and went into the classroom, where everybody was looking at me like they just saw their two of their teachers making out in the hallway.

"We all saw what happened!" Ororo screeched in glee. I sat on top of my desk, ignoring the looks of the teens.

"Yeah, we saw you making out with McCoy in the hallway," Scott smirked as I turned away from them, my face red.

"Just go paint." I laughed, waving them off.

"Whatever," Peter said, grabbing his paintbrush.

Masterlist

#X-Men #X-Men Apocalypse #x-men x reader #X-men oneshot #hank mccoy #hank mccoy x reader #beast #beast x reader #teachers #professor x #mystique

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mara-twins · 5 years ago

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Mara-twins Prompt List

Hey, guys so this is something new I have been wanting to do for a while now. I’m hoping this will help me better my writing and possibly grow, too.

Send in requests through my inbox only.

You can send in up to three (3) prompts for a one-shot. If a prompt has been used already for a solo request, I will not use it again. So you will have to pick something else. I apologize in advance.

However, if that number was added into a combination (up to 3 prompts) I'll take it. You will also need to pick one (1) person from any of the group list down below.

[UPDATE]

I have started a ko-fi, so anyone who is willing to buy me a coffee please let me know what your request is and I will add it to a priority pile.

Guideline for Request:

Pick one (1) person from the list below

Pick one (1) type of genre

Pick your prompt(s)

Person(s) List:

Members of GOT7

Members of BlackPink

SHINee's Minho

BtoB's Peniel and Minhyuk

Day6's Jae and YoungK

Amber Liu

Tom Holland/Peter Parker

Andy Biersack

[More to be added later]

Genre:

AU (State what kind of AU)

Fluff

Angst

Suggestive

Fantasy/Supernatural (Based off the world in my head called Shadows)

Prompt list:

1) “Come over here and make me.”

2) “Have you gone mad?!”

3) “Please don’t.”

4) “Are you leaving?”

5) “You want me to what?”

6) “I’m calling in that favor now.”

“Conditions” - Mark (GOT7)

7) “Do you...I mean, would you like a massage?”

8) “Is there a reason you're on my bed half naked?”

“Beat the Heat” - Mark (GOT7)

9) “Hold up! Are you jealous?”

10) “Did you seriously just reply using song lyrics?” (State the lyric in the ask)

11) “I almost lost you.”

12) “I think we need to talk.”

13) “Wanna bet?”

“Winner pick Dessert” - Yugyeom (GOT7)

14) “Don’t ever do that again!”

15) “I wouldn’t leave even if you wanted me to.”

16) “Just kiss me already!”

“Gonna be Late” - Lisa (BlackPink)

17) “Always”

18) “It could be worse.”

19) “Be quiet or they’ll hear you.”

20) “Looks like we’re trapped...”

21) “This is by far your stupidest plan to date”

22) “Sounds like fun!

23) “You want this where?”

24) “Let’s go dance in the rain!”

25) “Just this once, please?”

26) “We better go before all hell breaks loose.”

27) “I’ve seen you stealing glances at me...”

28) “I can’t believe you convinced me to do this!”

“Enough” - Jackson Wang (GOT7) feat. Park Jinyoung (GOT7)

29) “You’re the only one I can trust to do this.”

30) “I got you a present.”

31) “Marry me?”

32) “What is wrong with you?”

33) “Is that a yes, then?”

34) “Stop acting as if everything’s okay, I can see it’s not.”

35) “It’s 3am...”

36) “We need to go to the cemetery.”

37) “Are you afraid of the dark?”

38) “Monsters aren’t real.”

39) “This isn’t happening!”

40) “I’m not doing that.”

41) “Can we do a movie night here?”

42) “Who’s baby is that?”

43) “I’m pregnant.”

44) “I think I just heard a wolf howl.”

45) “Do you believe...?” (Finish the question when you send in your ask.)

46) “Does this outfit make me look fat?”

47) “Can we just sleep on this?”

48) “I don’t want to get up for school/class”

49) “Why is this happening?”

50) “You can’t possibly know that.”

51) “You’re dangerous”

52) “That’s enough for today.”

53) “I need you”

54) “I want you”

55) “You’re mine”

56) “Be careful what you wish you.”

57) “You look like the resident bad (boy/girl).”

58) “Take a good look at yourself.”

59) “Can we talk about who is the background picture on your phone?”

60) “Look at me.”

More than Friends - Jaebeom (GOT7)

61) “Call me and I’ll be there.”

62) “You were in my dream last night.”

“Blanket Forts and Memories” - Jennie (BlackPink)

63) “It’s been like that every night now.”

64) “You must be magic!”

65) “You are always on my mind lately.”

66) “I’ll keep you safe, just stay with me.”

67) “You can’t do that!”

68) “I am me.”

69) “You know you love me like this.”

70) “Mommy said I can...”

71) “Long time no see”

72) “Of course I’m mad at you!”

73) “Idiot.”

74) “Can I take you out to dinner?”

75) “You owe me...”

76) “That’s just not how things are done around here.”

77) “I’m not that old.”

78) “And neither are you.”

79) “You can’t mean that.”

80) “I do.”

82) “What can I say?”

83) “Love has made you blind.”

84) “My friend”

85) “Give me a sign.”

86) “Did you see...” (Finish question in ask.)

87) “Sweet talk to me”

88) “It’s hot out today.”

89) “Do I have to wear clothes today?”

90) “I can’t understand what you're saying.”

91) “Tell me what to do.”

92) “Your beautiful, baby.”

93) “You’re a lot funnier than you know.”

94) “Maybe you aren’t really seeing.”

95) “Can’t we just pretend this is a movie and everything just works out?”

96) “We can.”

97) “It does.”

98) “Did you wait long?”

99) “This was fun while it lasted.”

100) “This really is goodbye.”

101) “I’m happiest when I’m with you.”

102) “Babe, have you seen my...” (Finish in ask)

103) “Are you seriously more interested in your phone than me right now?”

104) “Hey can you help me?”

105) “This place is a mess!”

106) “Are you sure someone lives here?”

107) “Is this new?”

108) “Have you seen that new post from...” (Finish in ask and send me a link if it’s something real?)

109) “You can’t possibly finish all of that.”

110) “Don’t threaten me.”

111) “You’re my miracle.”

112) “You can’t keep us apart!”

113) “Can we get a pet?” (Identify what kind of pet in your ask)

114) “ROAD TRIP!”

115) “Angels aren’t always white you know.”

116) “Are you part of the mafia?”

117) “You're my mate”

118) “So there’s this party going on, would you like to go with me?”

119) “You look amazing.”

120) “You don’t actually believe in soulmates do you?”

121) “What’s that?”

122) “Thanks, but no thanks.”

123) “Call a doctor!”

124) “You’re under arrest.”

125) “I think we just entered hell.”

126) “I’m dead.”

127) “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

128) “Ugh! Can’t we just move past all this?”

129) “Sorry, but I think that’s mine.”

130) “I love them too.”

131) “You’ll survive, even if it’s without me.”

132) “How did you do that?”

133) “Would you like to join me?”

134) *Laughs* “How many girls have you used that line on?”

135) “You aren’t going to win me over that easily.”

136) “Do you remember when we were kids?”

137) “He/She’s touching me!” “No, I’m not!” “He/she’s touching me!!”

138) “Would you grow up!”

139) “Easy for you to say, you're perfect!”

140) “Can I crash out here?”

141) “Do you have any food here?”

142) “Can you be any more like a pig?”

143) “Come cuddle with me!”

144) “Aren’t you being a little brat.”

145) “Drop it!”

146) “Don’t even think about it!”

147) “You did all that for me?”

148) “I don’t feel so well.”

“Paradise Havoc” - Jackson (GOT7)

149) “I’m fine.”

150) “I’m a fast healer.”

151) “And he/she’s going for more!”

152) “You matter to me.”

153) “What did you just call me?”

154) “Can you even cook?”

155) “We can stop all of this, here and now.”

Sickness and Injury Prompts

A - Z Angst Prompts

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itisannak · 6 years ago

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‘Valentine’ by 5sos (Ashton Irwin Smut / The Youngblood Series)

youtube

Summary: (Y/N) and Ashton pretend to hate each other to conceal the fact they are sneaking around behind everyone's back. Until jealousy takes the best of them. Based on Sexual Prompt: #60 "I will ride you until I break you. You are mine and mine alone." (Smut / Unprotected Sex) (Request) (Words: 2.5k) (Part of Ashton’s Youngblood Series, but not connected with the other 3 parts)

"Well, look who finally came for breakfast... What, was your comforter a bit too heavy?" Ashton mocks me, earning a punch on the shoulder from Luke and a middle finger from me. "I am sorry, I forgot I had to ask you when you would like me to wake up, Master Irwin. It will be the last time. I humbly request your forgiveness. Now fuck off." I say, taking my seat next to Michael. "Here we go again." Luke mumbles as Ashton clenches his jaw and slams his mug on the table. "Guys, really you have to start getting along. We can't have this whole tour with you 2 fighting like cat and dog." Calum comments, passing me a mug of coffee. "He started it." I state and sip on my beverage. "It's true." Michael says and turns to Ashton. "Oh come on. She was late..." He says and points at me. "I feel that this conversation will lead to nothing. Plus, it's like having 2 4-year olds fighting. Just be adults and put up with each other." Calum states and gets up from the table, heading to the couch. "It's... whatever... As long as he stops being a bitch, I will not push it further." I say and grab a biscuit. "I am a bitch?" Ashton asks, glaring at me. I roll my eyes and get up, joining Calum on the couch. "So, what are we going to do tonight?" I ask the guys, earning shrugs from everyone. I huff and grab my phone, searching for bars near our hotel in Stockholm.

I fix my dress which has risen further up my thigh from sitting on the couch while waiting for the guys to get ready, getting up to prep for their shoot. "Guys, I need to take some pictures of your looks." I shout, picking up my camera. "Do we really need to?" Michael groans, making me turn to look at him. "First thing first, you need pictures for your accounts. And second, that's what you pay me for." I say and shrug. "Luke first." Michael says and points to Luke, who is already fixing his jacket. "Be my guest." I say and point to the white wall which I've chosen for the background. Luke poses for me, almost naturally. I take a few shots before I motion for Calum to come up, giving Michael some extra time. "How do you want me?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows. I chuckle and roll my eyes before I bring the camera to my eye level. "Lean on the wall, thumbs on your belt loops. Pout a bit, girls love your lips." I say and he follows my orders. Again, I take a few shots, trying different angles. "Thank you. Michael, you are up." I call him and he moves in front of the wall, posing for me. "See, you are a natural..." I say as he changes his poses. "Of course." He replies and I smile at him. "Sit a bit straighter... A couple more clicks and we are done." I say and Michael smiles. "Can someone call Malibu Ken?" I ask, referring to Ashton. "Seriously, don't start again." Michael pleads and I shrug. "I can't promise anything..." I reply, checking the photos I took.

"We are going to wait in the lobby." Calum says as Ashton stands in front of the camera. "Wish I could join you..." I mumble, looking at Ashton. The guys exit quietly, leaving me and Ashton alone. "How long do we have to pretend that we hate each other?" Ashton asks me as I snap the first shot. "Who told you that I am pretending?" I ask, teasing him. "Your nails on my back, last night... When I fucked that pretty little pussy of yours." He smirks at me, giving me the perfect picture. "And who told you that I wasn't pretending last night?" I push him a little more, making him smirk and lick his lips. "Maybe the fact that you've been sneaking in my room throughout this tour." He says as I take the last picture. "Busted." I say, leaving the camera on the table and approaching him. He spins me and pins me on the wall, pressing his body on mine. "You look hot in that dress." He whispers, nuzzling his nose on my neck. "I wore it for you." I admit and he smirks, kissing my sweet spot. "And I really appreciate that, princess." He says and I chuckle. His hand travels up my thigh, grazing the soft skin with his fingers. "We don't have much time." I inform him, breathing heavily; all this play-pretend between us makes the heat between my legs rise. "I know. And don't fool yourself, princess, I won't be satisfied with a quickie. I will ride you until I break you. You are mine and mine alone. " He growls before he crashes his lips on mine. "Is someone a bit jealous?" I ask, parting from his lips. "Of course I am. Do you think I didn't see you cuddling with Calum?" He asks, moving his lips down my chest. "It was innocent, Ashton... We were just watching a movie." I protest but melt as he bites on my collarbone. "You are not allowed to cuddle with anyone but me." He barks, gripping hard on my jaw. "Supposedly, we hate each other's guts. I couldn't just come and cuddle you." I say and watch his features turn harsher. "Then don't cuddle anyone." He says and I smirk. "I love it when you get jealous." I comment and peck on his bottom lip.

After we found a lame excuse for why we were late, we left the hotel and headed to the club I suggested. Soon enough, everyone is drinking and dancing, relaxing after a long time. I am trying to stay away from Ashton, but after a couple of drinks, it is getting harder and harder. I move my hips to the rhythm, maintaining eye contact with Ashton, who sips his soda as he scans my body. I decide to tease him just a little bit start dancing with Calum, who looks at me a little weird. "Are you ok?" He asks me and I nod. "Yeah, I just love that song." I reply and he nods, moving to the rhythm. My eyes are glued on Ashton, who clenches his jaw for the whole time I am dancing with Calum.

An hour or so after, the guys have scattered around, chatting with people and dancing along with the music. Of course, Ashton had to get payback, so he opted for a girl nearby, buying her a drink and grinding on her; I guess I deserved that, but that doesn't make my blood boil any less. He catches the irritation on my face and that makes that stupid smirk spread on his face. A minute after, he is next to me, drink in hand, and cockiness written all over his face. "What happened, princess?" He asks me, leaning onto me to whisper in my ear. "Nothing." I state simply; I hate myself for falling in the stereotype, but honestly, I don't want to talk to him right now. "Oh, come on princess. I know that someone got a little bit jealous." He says and twirls a strand of my hair with his finger. "I don't know what you are talking about." I say and turn away from him, grabbing my glass to get myself another drink. "(Y/N), just admit it..." He sings and I hold myself back not to slap him. "Leave me alone." I say and walk away from him, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. Given half the chance, I would bust his head open to get some sense inside it.

When I get back to our table, Ashton is waiting there, scrolling through his phone. "What happened, pretty boy? Where is that little girlfriend of yours?" I ask, catching his attention. "Actually, my girlfriend is being such a bitch right now, even though all I did was give her a taste of her own medicine." He replies and I gasp. "I am not your girlfriend." I protest and he groans in frustration. "If you keep doing that, you obviously won't be." He almost screams. "Fine." I reply. "Fine." He says and gulps down his drink.

Once back in our hotel suite, all we do is stare threateningly at each other. The guys give us confusing looks, whispering about what might have happened between us again. "Can you stop fucking looking at me?" I snap, making Michael huff in annoyance. "When you stop staring at me, sure." He replies and I groan. "Guys..." Luke tries to reason us. "What the fuck do you want from me?" I ask, my blood boiling. "What the fuck do you want from me? I am lovey-dovey with you, you are complaining. I am mean to you, you are complaining. I give you a taste of your medicine, you hate me. What do you want from me?" He asks and I burst into tears. "I want a fucking normal relationship with you. This shit is problematic." I scream, feeling my face turn red.

I only realize what I said when I take a look at the guys; Calum's jaw grazes the floor, Michael stares in confusion, and Luke switches stares between me and Ashton. "Shit." I mumble under my breath, looking for a way to leave the room. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ashton asks me, moving closer to me. "Anyone mind explaining to us what is going on?" Luke asks, but neither of us is paying attention to anyone else but each other. "I knew your intentions from Day 1... I didn't want to lose what we had." I admit as the back of his hand grazes my cheek. "What am I going to do with you?" He sighs and I shrug. "Probably break up with me, not talk to me ever again..." I say, pouting. "No princess. I am going to punish you for not speaking your feelings." He says and cups my chin. "I was scared." I protest and he smirks. "I guess we were both..." "What do you mean?" I ask. "Oh, come on guys, you can't be that stupid." Luke groans, making us realize that we are in front of other people as well. "Maybe we should take this somewhere privately." Ashton suggests and I nod.

Once in his room, he locks the door as I sit on the bed. "You know, I am in love with you..." He says, still with his back to me. "You are?" I ask, fiddling with my fingers. "I really am." He replies, however not daring to look at me. "Good, cause I am too. And it is scary, and it is scary as fuck, but I want to shoot at it. Because it's you." I say, standing up and walking to him. "What if I screw this up? I don't know how to do this whole normal thing..." He says, turning to face me. "Then we will screw this up together. I don't know what to do either." I reply and he chuckles. "Look at the kitten being the mature one in this relationship." He comments before he grabs me and pins me to the wall, crashing our lips. "You are mine." He groans against my lips, biting hard on the bottom one. "I am yours." I agree, trying to get back to kissing him. He responds, slipping his tongue into my mouth. I grip on his t-shirt, pulling it to get him closer to me. His hands travel under my dress, directly going for my underwear. He doesn't bother pulling it down; he pushes it to the side and rubs a finger along my slit. "If I knew that fighting for real turns you on so much, I would have argued with you every day." He comments, smiling at me. "Am I really that wet?" I ask him, earning a chuckle. "Here." He says and sticks his fingers in my mouth. I suck on them, looking at him through my eyelashes, and watching him gaze at me in amazement. "Fuck, I always forget how good you are at sucking..." He growls as I take his fingers deeper.

"Bed or wall, princess?" He asks me after I pop my fingers out of my mouth. "Wherever you want, daddy. I need you..." I say and look at him with doll eyes. He doesn't reply; he just gets on his knees in front of me, lowering my dress as he goes. Leaving me only in my powder pink panties, he looks up at me as he spreads my legs. "Princess looks good in pink." He states, yanking my panties down with his teeth. "You like it, daddy?" I ask and he nods. He kisses below my navel and moves downwards, stopping just before my clit. "I love it... Ready for me, princess?" He asks before he pecks on my clit, causing me to melt. "As always." I reply and try not to cum right there and then. "Good." He says and stands up.

He turns me around, gluing my chest on the wall. I hear him unzip his jeans as one slap is delivered on my ass, making me wince, but getting me wetter. He thrusts inside me, making my chest hit on the wall. "Fuck." I scream, throwing my ass backward. "You like that, little slut?" He asks, making me roll my eyes. "I love that, daddy." I scream; It is weird that it is the first time of all we've fucked that I am able to scream, without worrying about the others finding out. "I love your voice when I fuck you, princess." He whispers in my ear, making my pussy pulse. He is pounding in me, hitting my spot every time; there is no time to take it slow, we want release and we want it now. The tension between us has been thick for hours, we can't hold back. My ass claps against his skin, making a perfect sound, adding to our moans and groans. I claw on the wall as he pounds in me, his hand squeezing my boob. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." He groans, thrusting harder. His grip tightens and I almost lose it, my head falling back and resting on his shoulder. "A little more... a little more..." I chant as he sucks a hickey on my neck. Ashton curses through groans and growls, trying to hold himself back.

I collapse on the wall, screaming through my ecstasy as my legs quiver. Ashton pulls out and starts humping my ass, soon releasing too. I pant and shake as Ashton hisses and groans. "So fucking beautiful." He comments through a hitched breath. "That was so good, baby." I say, turning my head to look at him. "I know." He agrees and plants a kiss on my temple. "Let me clean you up, princess." He says and moves to grab wet napkins from the bedside table. "What are we going to tell the guys in the morning?" I ask and watch him shrug. "The truth. They are big boys, they will understand." He says and starts wiping his cum from my back. "What about the fans?" I ask again. "For now, let's keep it a secret from them. Once the tour ends, we will see." He says and turns me around, bringing me closer to him. I nod and he smiles, leaning in for a kiss.

My Masterlist

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hoodoo12 · 6 years ago

Note

Is it possible I could request a gender dysphoric reader coming out to Rick? If not, it's fine, but thank you in advance! ^-^

Thank you for the ask and the discussion! 😘

Rick was due any moment, and you were sitting in the middle of a mess with your face in your hands.

You should get ready. You told him you’d be ready. But you just . . . couldn’t.

There was a faint green light, a bump and a crash in the other room--you’d extinguished all the lights and the whole place was dark. Rick swore, loudly, and marched into your room, only banging along the wall occasionally. With no warning or permission, he flicked on the overhead light.

It was only a 60 watt bulb, but you’d been in the dark so long it blinded you like it was the sun.

“What the actual fuck?” he grumbled. “This place is pitch black, baby, was there a power outage or-or something?”

He blinked owlishly too, and was finally able to take in the state of you in an oversized sleep shirt and sweatpants and your room, which looked like every article of clothing you owned had been balled up and thrown randomly around. The dresser drawers were open and empty. Your closet was open and just about everything had been ripped from its hanger; everything was all disheveled.

“We were going out!” he chided. “Come on, let’s go. Let’s go!”

You mumbled something towards your lap.

Rick tried to take giant steps over the mounds of clothing to get to you, and was mostly successful. He couldn’t avoid stepping on a few things however. Standing in front of you, all you could see of him were his knees.

“Come on!” he insisted. “I got tickets! We’re gonna miss it, and-and-and he says this is his last tour ever, even if I’m not one hundred percent convinced it’s true!”

He reached down and grabbed your upper arm and gave you a tug to get you moving. You used passive resistance to stay seated, but did look up at him.

It was almost funny the way his expression morphed from annoyed to startled to concerned as he saw you’d been crying.

Instantly his tone changed. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked softly.

You barely trusted your voice, but answered, “I’m sorry, Rick. I can’t go tonight. I can’t go out.”

“What’s wrong?” he repeated.

“I don’t have anything to wear . . .” you whispered as you dropped your chin to your chest again. You felt ashamed to say the lie but that was easier than admitting the real reason.

Rick was quiet. And still too, which made you sneak a glance up at him.

He wasn’t looking at you; his sharp gaze was taking in the state of your room and everything strewn about it. While you watched him, his eyes narrowed. He blew a breath out through his nose and turned back to you. You dropped your head again.

“Nothing?” he asked, and you burned with more shame.

“I . . . don’t like any of . . . this,” you whispered, hoping he’d find that a valid enough reason to believe you.

“Hmmph,” he snorted, and began rummaging through your things.

You felt an inch tall. You wanted to curl into a ball and disappear while Rick picked up and shook out random pieces of clothing. You couldn’t look at him. You couldn’t look at the horrendous mess you’d made. Tears made your eyes hot again.

Rick made his way through your room, continuing to grab shirts and skirts and pants. He waded over to the end of your bed; then you heard him poking through your destroyed closet. Those tears coursed down your cheeks and your nose stuffed up so you breathed through your mouth. You tried very hard not to actually sob, but an occasional shaky breath made more noise than you wanted it to, so after one of those you held your breath as punishment.

Rick stopped in front of you again, standing on top of some tee shirts you’d previously used to wipe away the snot.

“Hey,” he said. “What about this outfit?”

You wiped your face with your forearm and looked up with bleary eyes.

The sob you couldn’t quite control broke completely free when you saw what he’d put together. It was a tuxedo shirt you’d found at a thrift store post-prom season. He’d located a burgundy vest too, and draped it over the shirt. He’d also found a pair of fitted tousers, and even held out a pair of men’s wingtip shoes--another thrift store find.

He waited for you to say something, but when you didn’t, when you couldn’t, he said,

“This was the only shirt still hanging nicely on the hanger. The shoes were below it, still sitting together, and I don’t think it was because they were all in the way back.

“I also-also found this.”

From behind the shirt he juggled out a piece of fabric that made you want to not curl up and disappear, but curl up and die.

Your binder.

“Why don’t you put this on, baby, and I’ll see how handsome you are?” he suggested quietly.

You sobbed even harder.

Rick immediately squatted beside you. “Hey, hey, shhh, baby . . .”

He brushed your hair with his fingers. The gentle touch, plus the fact that he wasn’t upset just made you cry harder. He didn’t press you for an response. He did offer you one of the soiled tee shirts you’d already used to blow your nose, which made you almost smile.

Finally, you were able to take a real breath. Your nose was still stuffy.

“I can’t wear that,” you muttered to him, throwing a weak hand gesture towards the masculine outfit he’d put together. “I can’t wear that in public.”

“Why not?” he challenged, but gently.

“Because I don’t have the shape for it!” you replied, with venom. He didn’t deserve it, but it was a question you asked yourself frequently and the answer always made you angry. “My hips are too big, I have boobs--I don’t have the right body for that outfit! I want to, but I . . . I just can’t!”

Rick considered this. In his silence, you continued.

“All this? All this stuff? These dresses and cute little strappy shoes?” you said, still angrily, pointing at the mess of your room. “I hate them! I don’t want them! That’s not who I am! But it’s what people expect! It’s what they see! They don’t see me, they just see the outside and, and . . .”

Your nose blocked again, but your eyes were completely dried up. You felt dessicated and hollow inside, and so tired.

“Baby . . .” Rick said, then closed his mouth. He took a breath and began again. “Baby . . . I can. Well. I can do that for you. You know? I can . . . make your outside match what’s inside.”

You don’t know how to respond to that. You look up at him to see if he’s joking or lying. His expression is dead serious, and he doesn’t have any trouble holding your gaze.

“Is that what you want?”

That simple question, that sincere question that didn’t come with judgement or scoffing or sneers or disgust or belittling made you cry again. Once more, Rick didn’t act uncomfortable or try to get you to stop. He sat beside you in the ruins of your room and let you weep while he stroked your hair.

Eventually, even through he didn’t press for any other information, you tried to tell him. All the years of you trying to figure yourself out, of doubts, of thinking you were crazy tumbled from your lips. Your hate of the way people saw you, your hate of the world’s expectations, your hate of yourself even, for not being what was easiest, followed too. The words didn’t stop for a very long time, like they’d been bottled up and pressure-sealed, and now there was no stopping them.

Rick sat and listened to it all.

You couldn’t answer his question. You apologized, and he waved you off.

“How about, for tonight, I’ll get you a body shaper. Then you put on that fitted shirt and trousers, and we go out?”

“The concert’s already started . . .” you weakly protested.

He shrugged. “Who cares? Rock stars always get on stage late. He probably started with something like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and how often can anyone listen to that song with the horny-backed toads? Let’s get you dressed, and maybe, just maybe I can sneak us back stage.”

You nodded, wiped your face again, and allowed him to help you up.

As he did, you asked the question that scared you.

“How are you okay with this?” you said, meaning “how are you okay with me?”

Rick smiled down at you. “Baby, I like you for you. I’m Rick Sanchez. I don’t care what parts you have or don’t have. I like what I like.”

He kissed you then, all swollen, snotty, red-faced and all.

fin.

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tanjamikaelson · 7 years ago

Text

Rumors - part 30

~ RUMORS MASTERLIST ~

LOS ANGELES

When we arrived in Los Angeles we stayed in my house, that had a beautiful view towards the beach.

- Oh, this place is amazing; “Rebekah said entering my house.”

- Thanks; “I said, giving her a smile.”

- We’re so gonna enjoy here; “Rebekah stated, smiling back.”

We went to shopping, to spend more of Klaus’ money. We went into the most expensive store in the town and while we were looking through the clothes Rebekah spoke; You know I could compel for everything in this shop, but I would definitely rather spend Klaus’ money.

- I laugh; And that’s exacly what we’re going to do.

- We could make a party at home, tomorrow; “Rebekah suggested.”

- Yeah, we could; “I told her.”

- Then I think I will wear this at the party; “Rebekah said showing me short luxury crystal dress.”

- Oh yes, go try it on; “I told her exited.”

While Rebekah was in a dressing room I was trying to find some dress for me.

- Then I heard girl that was working at the shop saying; We also have a matching necklaces for that dress.

- I knew she was talking to Rebekah so I turned around to see her; That looks amazing on you; “I told her.”

- Thanks; Rebekah smiled then she turned towards the girl, saying; Show me the necklace.

While she was looking at the necklace I found perfect dress for me. Then I went into dressing room to try it on, it is a short V neck silver dress. When I came out I asked Rebekah; Bekah, what do you think?

- It’s perfect; “Rebekah quickly said.”

- I don’t think there’s something that doesn’t look good on us; “I told her.”

- Yeah, you’re right; “Rebekah said.”

About three hours before the party began Rebekah and I started getting ready.

Before we came back down the people already started coming. We came few minutes later we came down. A pumping bass heavy electronic music track started up. It felt like the whole house had a pulse of its own and everyone were full of excitement.

- This is going to be fun; “I stated.”

- Now let’s drink; “Rebekah suggested and pulled me toward the bar outside.”

We took our drinks and stood next to the pool, talking and watching people dance.

Then a familiar voice spoke behind us; When I heard that some big party is happening here I knew you’re back in town.

- Rebekah quickly turned around; Who the hell are you? “she asked.”

- My friend; “I told her.”

- More than friend back in the days; He said and I slightly rolled my eyes. Then he turned his attention towards Rebekah; My name is Sebastian; he introduced himself and kissed her hand.

- Rebekah smiled, saying; I’m Rebekah.

- Original vampire. I know; Sebastian told her, Rebekah looked at me and he added; Don’t worry I’m a vampire too.

- You’ve turned him? “Rebekah asked.”

- Yeah, like 60 years ago, right? “I asked.”

- Sebastian winked at Rebekah and said; Yes, that’s right.

- Oh, nice; “Rebekah smiled.”

- So how long are you two staying here? “Sebastian asked.”

- Till it gets boring; “I replaied.”

- Oh yeah, tipically you; “Sebastian told me.”

- I supose you aren’t the only vampire that came here? “Rebekah asked.”

- I’ve invited a few people; “Sebastian said, smile appearing over his face.”

- When he says few people that means the half of these people are vampires; “I remarked.”

- Well you know me; “Sebastian said.”

- Rebekah and I looked at the crowd and I told her; Bekah, you have the most beautiful sireline.

- I don’t expect anything less; “Rebekah said and smiled.”

- They aren’t all your sire line, but more than a half is; “Sebastian spoke.”

- I see some of the people I turned; “I said taking a sip of my drink.”

- How long you haven’t been here, like 8 years or something like that? “Sebastian asked.”

- Yeah, I think it’s been 8 years; I said and added; And I hope that here won’t be more vampires than humans.

- Sebastian smiled; Well not one vampire would like that.

- Great then; “I said, smiling back.”

Then I went inside of the house and left Rebekah and Sebastian alone. After a few minutes one girl sat next to me saying; I’ve heard a lot about you.

- Positive I hope; “I told her.”

- Of course; “She said, adding; Can you introduce me to Rebekah, I would love to meet an Original?

- Yeah, of course; I said and added; Follow me.

We went back outside where I left Rebekah, but she wasn’t there anymore.

- Oh, I don’t know where she went; I told her; She was here just a minutes ago.

- It okay, its a long night; “The girl said.”

- What’s your name? “I asked.”

- Maya; “She said.”

- Nice to meet you; “I said and smiled and she smiled back.”

Few minutes later I spotted Rebekah talking with some people so I grabbed Maya’s hand and pulled her towards her. When those two meet Rebekah and I went to the dance floor and started dancing with one guy and soon after that we bite his neck. It didn't take long to drain him out of blood.

One day while I was sleeping in my room Rebekah came to wake me up, holding the glass with blood under my nose.

- Rebekah! “I exclaimed angry because I didn’t want to wake up.”

- I was just checking to see if you’re hungry; “Rebekah said, swallowing the blood in one gulp.”

- I’m sleeping; “I muttered into the pillow.”

- No, you’re not; “Rebekah told me.”

- Why did you wake me up? “I asked taking a look at her.”

- I think it’s time to go to New Orleans; “Rebekah said.”

- I didn’t think you want to go anywhere from here; “I said.”

- Well we need to go, I want to see what happened to Elijah; Rebekah told me, continuing; I was calling him for two months now and he is not answering.

- Maybe that’s his way of trying to get us to New Orleans; “I told her.”

- If it is we are going out of there the moment we know that’s the reason he is not picking up; “Rebekah spoke.”

- So do we go now, or? “I asked.”

- Yes! Pack your things and be fast so we can come there before the midnight; “Rebekah said.”

When we packed our things and put the suitcases in the back of the car, I went back inside for some bottles of alcohol, then we sit in Rebekah’s red convertible and she left one more voicemail to Elijah saying; Elijah, if not answering your phone is part of your clever plan to get us back to godforsaken city, then well done, we’re coming.

Rebekah and I drinked all the wine and almost whole bottle of whiskey, but I was drinking it mostly. She was driving the car fast as I reached my hand to turn on the radio, smiling as my favourite song came on and I started singing along. Rebekah glances over at me for a brief moment, before I stood up on the car seat and reached my hands out.

- Sit down you’re drunk; “Rebekah told me trying to pull me down.”

- I shaked her hand off of my leg and; I’m not drunk.. Maybe a little bit.

I closed my eyes and felt the wind whip my long hair all around my face. Then Rebekah starts singing along with me.

When we finally arrived in front of the Mikaelson mansion in New Orleans, we walked up to the front steps and Rebekah opened the door. One girl came down the stairs, wielding a fire iron, ready to defend herself and asks; Who the hell are you two?

- Oh, you must be the maid. Our bags are in the car.. get them, will you? Rebekah told her.

- The girl smiles wryly, putting down the fire iron; Hello. Not the maid; she told us.

Rebekah glanced at her for a moment before rushing towards the other room; Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done with our brother, you narcissistic, backstabbing wanker! “Rebekah shouted, making our presence known to Klaus.”

- You’re that girl that Klaus got pregnant; “I remarked looking at her.”

- Yeah; She nodded slowly; She has your brother's manners.

- Oh Klaus is not my brother, but yeah, she does and she has his temper too; “I informed her.”

- Oh, okay; She shrugged, then reached her hand out; I’m Hayley.

- I’m Y/N; I introduced myself with a smile on my face and shake her hand, then asked; Yeah, so where is Elijah?

- Beats me. He's long gone; “Hayley told me.”

- What do you mean, "long gone"? “I asked.”

- Well, one minute he was here making epic promises about protecting me in this predicament that a bottle of scotch and some bad decisions got me into. He was all poetic about how we're family and then Klaus told me he bailed. Guess that's what I get for trusting a vampire; “Hayley informed me.”

- I laugh; Oh, the same thing happen to me; I told her quickly; And Elijah is not just any vampire, and he doesn't break promises, which means Klaus did something to him; then I went toward the room where Rebekah and Klaus were talking.

- You slept with Klaus too? “Hayley asked following me.”

- I don’t feel like talking about it; “I told her.”

- I assume six dead vampires were yours doing? “I hear Klaus asking Rebekah.”

- I shrugged innocently; They were very rude; I told him and Rebekah continued; Trying to victimize two poor, innocent girls. Just trying to find their way to the quater. So sorry, were they friends of yours? Oh, that’s right, you don’t have any friends.

- Klaus looked mildly offended for a moment; I do have friends. I have Marcel, you remember him don’t you? Yes, of course you do. He fancies himself, the king of the quarter now and he has his rules about killing vampires. It’ll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up for you two; “He told her.”

- Rebekah and I share a look as I laugh, saying; Well if he isn’t over Rebekah I know what kind of punishment he has for her.

- Shut up Y/N; Rebekah exclaimed, then looked back at her brother; I don’t care about Marcel or his rules. Aren’t we here to take him down?

- Yes, we are, but to do that we need him to trust me; Klaus told her; He won’t be happy that you’re here.

- I couldn’t care less about Marcel’s happiness; “Rebekah told him firmly.”

After that Rebekah flashed out of the house and I turned to Hayley; Do you know some good bar around here?

- Rousseau's is good I guess; “Hayley told me.”

- Great, I’ll be there if anyone ask for me; “I told her and left.”

- While she was pouring more wine in the glass she spoke; I just moved here myself. What brought you back?

- Family business; I simply replied and then I saw Klaus walking into the bar, as he spotted me he walked towards us.

- I knew you'd be here; “Klaus stated when he sat next to me.”

- What are you doing here? “I asked him.”

- I need to have a drink with Marcel; “Klaus informed me.”

- The hundred dollar guy, again; “Bartender girl said smiling.”

- The brave bartender; “Klaus said returning the smile.”

- I shared look with the two of them; Why's that? “I asked.”

- She is not afraid to walk these streets alone at night; “Klaus told me, still looking at her.”

- Well I have black belt in karate; “She said smiling.”

- I smiled at what she said and then take out two hundred dollars bill and put it in front of her, saying; Now I'm two hundred dollar girl; then smiled in amusement while looking at Klaus and he rolled his eyes.

- Are you two in relationship? “She asked.”

- Oh God, no! “I told her.”

- Then like brother and sister? “She asked.”

- Klaus laugh and say; No, but we're family.

- This is the first time I hear him say that; “I remarked.”

- You're lying now; “Klaus told me.”

- I looked at him and thinked for a few seconds thinking, before saying; Hm, I don't think so; Klaus lazily smiled, then I looked back at the girl, telling her; I didn't catch your name.

- Camille, but you two can call me Cami; “She said.”

- I'm Y/N; I told her and before Klaus could say his name I continued; And this is annoying Klaus if you didn't already meet him. So just call me if he starts to bother you.

- Klaus laugh and says to Cami; Don't listen to her.

Then Marcel walked into the bar with two more guys and when he approached us he smiled and told me; Where Mikaelsons goes, Y/N follows. - I smiled back; Marcel. Of course I do.

- So are you two finally together? “Marcel asked us.”

- I frowned; What is that suppose to mean? “I asked.”

- You know what. Last time I remember you two had feelings for eachother; “Marcel said.”

- I rolled my eyes; That’s an ancient history; “I told him as I stood up from the bar.”

While Marcel and Klaus were drinking and talking I went to play pool. Couple of minutes later two guys that came with Marcel walked toward me and one of them took pool stick to play. So while he was playing I stopped and just watched him failing. The other guy who was behind me tried to touch my waist, but I grabbed his hand and twisted it. When he groaned in pain Marcel and Klaus looked at us and Marcel exclaimed; What the hell are you doing?

- Tell your guys to keep their hands away from me or they will end up dead; “I warned him.”

- Klaus laugh at what just happened and says; I think that would be a good idea. She is a bit unstable for the past few months.

Marcel looks at him cinfused and the guy asked me; Why? Are you taken? - I'm; “I told and let go of his hand.”

- So did you brought your boyfriend in town too? “Marcel asked dryly.”

- Her boyfriend is d-; Klaus wanted to say but I stopped him saying; Shut up, I can't listen to that word anymore; Then I went out of the bar and headed home.

- When I came home I yelled; Bekah, where are you?

- I head her yelling from downstairs; Here.

I came down the stairs in some dusty cobwebbed cellar room and heard Rebekah saying to Hayley; Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box, until he decides to pull the dagger out. That must be what he's done to Elijah. This one's mine.

- Hey, did you find Elijah? “I asked.”

- Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest, a pang of anger shooting through her; No, Elijah's isn't here. He must've stashed him elsewhere; “She spoke.”

- He keeps your coffin on standby; Hayley said to Rebekah.

- He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him; “Rebekah told her.”

- I feel sick; “Hayley remarked.”

- Welcome to the family, love. You should've run the second you realized Elijah was gone; Rebekah said, looking at her sternly.

- Why are here three more coffins? “Hayley asked.”

- I stopped besides Kol’s coffin and said; This one is Kol’s.

- He has coffins for all of us, well two of my brothers are dead and one is for my mother that is also dead; Rebekah told her.

Then Rebekah went to continue her search for Elijah, leaving me alone with Hayley.

Before we went out of that room Haley said; By the way you said Kol’s name, I guess you care about him.

- I looked at her; I love him; then I quickly changed the subjects, asking her; So why didn't you run away from Klaus?

- Well, the witches have put some sort of hex on me. As long as I'm carrying this baby, I can't leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me; Haley told me.

- Well that sucks; “I said.”

- Tell me about it.. I would be long gone if I can go somewhere; “Hayley said.”

- Don’t worry as long as Rebekah and I are here Klaus or anyone else won’t hurt you; I told her and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, when Hayley remained silent I continued saying; I know you don’t trust vampires, but we’re family now and you can trust us.

- Yeah, just don’t disapear like Elijah did; “Hayley says.”

- Well he didn’t disappear, Klaus daggered him. There is a big difference; “I told her, walking back up the stairs.”

- Hayley looks down at the floor; Whatever; she says under her breath and ask; So how exactly are you part of this family, because of Kol?

- No. I know Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah for over a hundred years. I used live here in New Orleans that’s how I meet them; “I told her.”

- And Kol and you were in relationship for all those years? “Hayley asked.”

- I smiled; I didn’t say I’ve meet him then. Unfortunately he was daggered back then. We are together since I meet him in Mystic Falls.

- Oh, okay; “Hayley said.”

- Well it’s late and I’m tired so I’m going to go and get some sleep; “I told her.”

- Good night; “Hayley said.”

- You too; “I said and smiled, before I went to my room.”

~ RUMORS MASTERLIST ~

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soup-crime · 3 years ago

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Hi. I'm Lenny. Oh, little buddy, did I scare ya? I'm sorry. Wake up. Wake up. Okay. Don't worry about it. I'm gonna get you out in a jiffy. You just keep holding your breath, little wormy. Yo, Lenny! Uh... I'm coming, Frankie! Well, move it! Come on. Pop's waiting. Here we go. And... Gotcha! Okay, buddy. You're free. Now escape. Go. Just go. Cry freedom. Oh. You almost gave me a heart attack. Lenny, what are you doing? What? I... I was just, uh... Picking you flowers. Hey. Mom said it's not okay to hit. Mom's not here. Dah-dum, dah-dum Don't. Dah-nah dah-nah Dah-nah dah-nah Don't! Buh-nah-bun-nah That song gives me the creeps. What do you mean? It's our theme song. Are they gone? Are they gone? You sure? Good morning, Southside Reef. I'm Katie Current, keeping it current. We've just received official confirmation. The sharks are gone. I repeat, the sharks are gone. Don't worry About a thing 'Cause every little thing Is gonna be all right Don't worry About a thing 'Cause every little thing Is gonna be all right Mussel Crowe! Jessica Shrimpson! Cod Stewart! Up next, a mother of 800 tells us how she does it all. But first, over to Janice for the traffic report. Thanks, Katie. Slight congestion here on the Interreef 95. There's an overturned mackerel. Authorities are trying to calm him down. Get out those shell phones and call into the boss 'cause you'll be late. Don't you yell at me! My mother is your mother, okay? Yeah. It's fake. Fake? I worked eight years on that! Oh! According to the latest scallop poll, fear of sharks is at an all-time high. Join us tonight for an in-depth report. How long must this reef live under siege? Is there no hero among us? Who can stop this shark menace? Hi. I'm Oscar. You might think you know, but you have no idea. Welcome to my crib. The good life. The way the other half lives. Check it out. I got my 60-inch Hi-Def flat-screen TV with six-speaker Surround. CD, DVD, PlayStation hookup, and a 8-track player for those days when you're feeling just a little... ...old school. 'Cause even a superstar, Mack Daddy fish like me has to have the basic necessities. Yeah. Like money. Come on, shorties. Why y'all messing with my fantasy? 'Cause you so broke, your bologna has no first name. Oh, that's funny. That's very funny. Hey, Oscar! Oscar! Over here! I gotta talk to ya! I'll be right there. Hang on to these for me. Oscar, you da fish. Yo, dude. Yo, Crazy Joe. Now that you live in a great penthouse, can I be your financial adviser? That's a billboard, Crazy Joe. You live in a billboard? No. And they call me crazy. Hey, Oscar, look who came to visit. Gotcha! No. Don't do that. Shouldn't you kids be in school? Shouldn't you be at work? Ooh, right back at me, huh? Little smart mouth. I'm on my way. Y'all stay outta trouble. And clean that stuff up. See ya. See you, Oscar. Ooh! Yo, yo. What's up? Big O's in the house. Hi, Oscar. Hey! Hi, Oscar. What's up? Hey. Psych! Yo, Johnson, is it lunch yet? You just got here. That's the point. Hey, Headphone Guy. Yeah. Looking good, ladies. Hey, Oscar. Unh, unh, unh. Keep up the bad work. Huh? I'm already punched in? Angie. Good morning. Can I help you? One wash and lube, please. Hot wax? Please. Kelp scrape? We're having a special. What do you say? Why not? It's mating season. And I'm feeling lucky. Sykes Whale Wash. Whale of a wash, and the price... Oh, my gosh. Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Oh. May I suggest a barnacle peel? Removes lines and salt damage. Good. Hey, Ang. Oh, my gosh! Hi, Oscar. Thanks for covering for me. Yo. I'm sorry. Angie needs to get her freak on. Would you hold for one moment, please? Thanks, dog. Oscar. Come on, Ang. Dance with me, Mama. Let me see it. Oh! Come on, Ang. Oscar. You're gonna get me fired. Please. You fired? Nah. That can't happen. 'Cause I would have absolutely no reason to come to work. Oh. You don't mean that. Of course I do. You're, like, my best friend. Oh, listen. Tell me what you think about this. This is, like, the best idea ever. All right? It's a sure thing, guaranteed cash extravaganza. Bottled water. Oh, no. All I

need is another advance on my paycheck from the boss, and I am outta this place. I'm, I'm... Oscar... Instead of getting in Mr. Sykes's face with another one of your get rich-quick schemes, go do something you're good at. What? Your job. Which, by some miracle, you still have. Oh. Almost forgot. I brought you some breakfast. You didn't. Mmm-hmm. Kelpy Kremes? Your favorite. Oh, by the way... You're still on hold. Oh, my gosh! Thank you for holding. Busy, busy, busy. Go! How can I help you? Mm-mm-mm-mm. No. I'm sorry. Mr. Sykes is at a meeting right now. Won't be back till later. How are my little babies this morning? You miss me? You doing good? Huh? Huh? You see, Sykes, it's a fish-eat-fish world. You either take or you get taken. Truer words have never been spoken. Is that it? That all? We done? You and me, we worked together a long, long, long time. Please, Don Lino, it's hardly been work. Let me finish. And you know... I love that about you... Let me finish! ...that I've lived my life for my sons, raising them and protecting them... You're the best! ...teaching them... Am I right or wrong? Sykes. It's all been to prepare... Right? To prepare them... Sorry. Yeah. It's all right. ...for the day they run the reef. Well, today is that day. Luca. I like big butts And I cannot lie... Hey, boss. Big butts. Oy vey! Long story short, from now on, yous work for Frankie and Lenny. Capisce? Lenny? Frankie, I understand, but Lenny? You can't be serious. I'm dead serious. It takes more than muscle to run things. Now Lenny, he's got the brains. That's something special. oh, yeah. He's special all right. What's that supposed to mean? Nothing. I'm just saying. Hey! I bring you in here, look you in the eye, tell you what's what, and what? What? What, "What"? Nothing. You said, "What," first. I didn't say "What" first. I asked you, "What?" You said, "And then what?" and I said, "What?" I said, "What what?" Like what what? You said, "What" first. You're making fun of me? No. You misunderstood. Sorry we're late, Pop. Lenny had an accident. He was born. You're a comic genius. Look, all I'm saying is, the kid ain't exactly no killer. My Lenny is a killer. You hear me? A cold-blooded killer. Look at him. Huh? That's it. That's it! You are out! What? What do you mean I'm out? You're fired! And on top of that, you're gonna have to start paying me! For what? So nothing happens to that little whale wash of yours. Welcome to Oscar's crib. Sixty-foot slime-covered tongue with canker sores, swim-in cavities, and plankton-encrusted teeth for when I feel a little... ...old school. Stop your moaning, Oscar. It could be a lot worse. Yeah, that's true. I could have this job, and look like you. Who's behind me? Whoever behind me, better give me some. Indigestion. She's gonna blow! Wait! Headphone Guy's still in there. I got you! Headphone Guy! Still think it could be worse? Yeah. I could look like you. Y'all funny. Well, see if you laugh at this! My eye! Soap in the eye! Soap in the eye! It's all right. I'm gonna get you some coupons. We gonna get you a free hot wax and all that. You like that? All right, go ahead, big baby. Thanks, Oscar. All right. Look who it is, Bernie. Just the fish we're looking for. Yeah. The boss be needing to see you right now. Right now. Ernie, Bernie, my jellyfish brothers. Boo-ya-ka! Hey, what's up, man? Man, it's good to see y'all. Huh? What'd you say, Ang? Oh, okay. Fellas, I'm gonna go over there, but, uh... Don't worry About a thing 'Cause every little thing Is gonna be all right That's not the way you sing that song, mon. Ah! Sykes! My brother from another mother! What the deezy, baby? Unh. Show me that. Unh. So, unh, what's going down? Hey, baby, this is all gravy today. Snap your fin. On the... Snap it! Oscar. Oscar! You're not snapping it. Don't sweat it. A lot of whitefish can't do it. Would you just sit down? Ooh. Thank you. Look, I've been going over my markers. You're in to me for five grand. Five G's, okay? Five G's? Man, you tripping! Five G's. See if this refreshes your memory. Wha... That's crazy. Look at

that! You wrote everything down so you wouldn't forget. Wow. This is a perfect example of why you're in management and I'm not. You go, boy. I have to start paying Don Lino protection. Everything you owe me, you owe him. How you figure that? Simple. The food chain. You see, on top, there's Don Lino. Right. There's me, and there's regular fish. Mmm-hmm. Oh, that's me. No. There's plankton, there's single-cell amoebas. Then there's me. I'm getting there. There's coral. There's rocks, there's whale poo, and then there's you. That's messed up. So, if Don Lino's squeezing me, he's squeezing you! What? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Easy, boss. Find your happy place. Happy place. There is no happy place with him around. I'm serious! Okay! Okay! Please, just give me some time. That's all I'm asking. I'm begging you, Sykes. Please! Please! All right. 'Cause I like you, I'm gonna give you 24 hours to pay up. All of it? How am I supposed to do that? That's your problem. Bring my 5,000 clams to the racetrack tomorrow, or else. Or else what? The boys'll explain. Unpleasant. Five thousand clams? You borrowed 5,000 clams from Mr. Sykes? Oscar, why do you get yourself into these situations? I don't know, Ang. It's just hard. All right? Because, um... I'm a little fish in a big pond. A really big pond. The ocean. I'm a nobody. I want some of that. Mrs. Sanchez? What? Ew! No. That. The top of the reef. Where the somebodies live. I wanna be rich and famous like them, but... I'm stuck down here. Well... What's wrong with down here? I'll tell you what's wrong with down here. Remember my dad? He worked at the Wash his whole life. He was the number one tongue-scrubber. Every year for 25 years. To me, working at the wash was the coolestjob in the ocean. But then I learned something I will never forget. Oscar's dad's a tongue-scrubber! Tongue-scrubber! Tongue-scrubber! Tongue-scrubber! Tongue-scrubber! Tongue-scrubber! Tongue-scrubber! My dad was the greatest. But nobody loves a nobody. I wanna be a somebody. Oscar, you don't have to live at the top of the reef to be a somebody. What's the difference? If I don't pay Mr. Sykes back by tomorrow, I'm dead anyways. Wait here. Wha... What's this? A pink pearl? Mmm-hmm. Where'd you get that? My grandmother gave it to me. She said it started from a tiny grain of sand. But then, after a while, it grew into something beautiful. Dreams can begin small, too. No. Uh-uh. No, I couldn't... Take it. It'll get you the money you need for Mr. Sykes. What do you mean, you don't understand? What's there to understand? We've been over this a thousand times. I don't want to say it again. You know, you're really giving me agita. I don't know how else to say this. You see something, you kill it, you eat it. Period. Thanks. That's what sharks do. That's a fine tradition. What's the matter with you? Your brother Frankie here, he's a killer. Thanks, Pop. He's beautiful. He does what he's supposed to do. Wipe your face. But you... I'm hearing things. You... You gotta understand, when you look weak, it makes me look weak. I know. I... I can't have that. Pop, I'm sorry. Lenny, Lenny, look at me. Look at me. This handing over the business is for you. For both of yous. You're acting like you don't even want it. I need to know that you can handle that. All right, all right. Right here, in front of me now, eat this. Yeah. Oh, uh, gee. Thanks, Pop. Here's the thing. I'm on a diet. I read an article about shrimps. They're not good for you. You know how many calories are in one of those shrimps? A lot. It's true, it's true, and the other thing is, my sister had a baby, and I took it over because she passed away, and then her baby lost its legs and its arms, and now he's nothing but a stump, but I still take care of him with my wife, and it's growing, and it's... It's fairly happy, but it's difficult 'cause I've been working a second shift at the factory to put food on the table, but all the love that I see in that little guy's face makes it worth it in the end. True story. I'm not asking you anymore. I'm telling ya. Eat it. No. Have

mercy. Pop, please. Eat. No eat! What... No! Son, eat the shrimp! Please! No! Please! Eat. Eat. Eat! No! Eat! Eat! Eat! No! Put the shrimp down! All right. Go now. No one's looking. Get outta here. You're free. Go on. Go! Thank you. You're a good person. Come on, fellas. Pop, Pop, I can handle the reef. It's not a problem. No. No. We're gonna do this as a family. Frankie, take Lenny out, show him the ropes. Oh, come on, Pop. Son, you're gonna learn how to be a shark, whether you like it or not. That kid better show up, or he's dead meat. Just say the word, boss. Carrying a big old envelope full of money. Gonna give it to Mr. Sykes. Hurry up! This is our chance. You don't wanna miss it. Are you sure about this? A trainer friend tipped me off. The race is rigged. We can't lose. What's the horse's name? Lucky Day. The long shot, Lucky Day, at 200 to 1. We're gonna be rich. Rich! Ooh. Top of the reef, here I come! No! Wait. What am I doing? Remember what Angie said. Remember what Angie said. What did Angie say? Dreams can begin small. You just have to bet it all. Bet it all! And Lucky Day wins! Yeah It's Oscar Five thousand on Lucky Day to win! That's 200 to 1. That would pay a million clams! Well, I guess that makes me Oscar the Millionaire. The Millionaire. Lucky Day. Lucky Day. Lucky Day! She's dangerous, super-bad Better watch out She'll take your cash She's a gold digger She's a gold digger She's dangerous, super-bad Better watch out She'll take your cash She's a gold digger Nice bet. You got a name? You wanna tell me what it is? Well, mine's Lola. Come on, man. Get your game face on. So... Lola. My name's... Uh, my name is Oscar, sweetie. Mrs. Sanchez. That hippity-hop smooth talk don't work with me. Oh. My bad. Hey. So, uh... Oscar. I was starting to think you skipped out on me. Sykes! Hey! Oh, I see you, uh, are already on your way to the concession stand. What are you doing? Bring us some drinks. Why are you touching me? That would be great. Thanks. Oh, and, uh, bring back, uh, some little wiener thingies. You mean the one with the toothpicks? What are you doing? Don't listen to him. Lola, let me escort you to my box. Your box? His box? You can't afford the gum under the seats. Sykes. He just laid five grand on Lucky Day. I think he can afford anything he wants. Five grand? My five grand? Uh-uh. No. It was another five grand. You had the money to pay me, and you bet it? Hold up. Sykes! Give me that! Clearly, I've made a mistake. No. No. Wait. Lola! Look. Deep down, I'm really superficial. And don't get me wrong, you're cute, but you're a nobody. Oscar, you cute, but you're a nobody. Wait! Lola! Come back! I'm not a nobody. I'm a wiener! You are unbelievable. You're in trouble up to your gills, and still you're asking for more? Huh? Go on. Get in here. Oscar, you better pray that this horse of yours comes through. Betting my 5,000. Hey! Hey! Outta my seat. You, outta my seat. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Sit tight and watch the race. With your good eye. Good eye. The horses are at the post. And they're off! It's Fish Fingers followed by Sea Biscuit and Salmonella. The long shot, Lucky Day, is having trouble getting out of the gate. What? - Only a sucker could've bet on that horse. Don't sweat it, man. He does this all the time. What's this? Lucky Day's crashing his way through, and he's off and running. Down the straightaway, it's Sea Biscuit, Fish Fingers and Lucky Day. Please, Lucky Day, go fast. Coming round the far turn, it's Sea Biscuit by a length, and Lucky Day well behind the pack. And here comes Lucky Day coming up from behind! He's passing Yellowtail, Salmonella, - coming up on Fish Fingers! Who's your fish? Around the final turn, here comes Lucky Day. Lucky Day's caught up to Fish Fingers! They're head-to-head. - Lucky Day's pulling ahead! Come on through for me, baby! I'm getting tired just thinking about counting all this money. Look at Lucky Day go! We're moving on up To the east side Absolutely amazing! This looks to be Lucky Day's big day. It's Lucky Day! Oh! What happened? Lucky Day is down. We're

moving on up To the east side No! And here comes Fish Fingers followed by Sea Biscuit, Yellowtail and Fish Fingers wins. What happened? Let me see. Wait! I just wanna hold you. Oscar, get outta my way. - What a sad day for Lucky Day. Remember your happy place. And that's why they call him the long shot. Yo, that was crazy! Right? Who knew? Everything's set, it's a lock, we good to go, we in the money, and he trips underwater. Who in the halibut trips under water? And by the way, on what? That's it! That's it! I've had it. Ernie, Bernie, I want you to find the deepest, darkest hole in the ocean and when you do, dig deeper and put him in it! Sorry, kid. It's nothing personal. It's just business. Don't worry About a thing 'Cause every little thing Is gonna be all right This is how you sing it, Oscar. Yeah. Sykes, he like ya, mon. Him say take it easy on you. Ooh! But Sykes is not here. True. Ernie, let me ask you a question. Yeah, mon. Go on. Why is it that me locks can sting other people, but they have no effect on me or you? Ernie! I didn't mean it, Ernie. I didn't mean it, man. Ernie! Oh, Ernie! Ernie! You made a joke! Good one, mon. Respect. Respect. Bloodfire. Frankie, you know I can't do this. Lenny, if you wanna make Pop happy, you gotta kill something. Or I could find a very old sick fish and just wait. Ugh. It's getting around, your thing at the restaurant. You know how fish talk. Bit-a-bit, bit-a-bop. This, that, the other. Then how ya doing, boom! Forget about it. You're dead. Okay. Seriously, I can't understand wiseguy, so you'll have to be more specific. Oh, specific. You want specific. Be a shark for once in your life! What am I gonna do? Aw. Lenny, forget about it. Okay? We do couple of practice runs, badda-bing, badda-boom, Pop's happy, you're a shark, life goes on. Capisce? Okay. Okay. Capisce. Wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Bingo. Right there. Dead ahead. You see it? TV dinner. Don't get no easier than this. All right. Come on. Eye of the tiger. Frankie, I can do this! What if I can't do this? Then don't bother coming home. Good point! All right. Hit him in the tail again. I like the funny face he make. Funny face. Ernie! Blow out! Ah! Uh, guys? Guys, don't leave me alone. There could be sharks out here. Oh, no. Wait. I'm sorry. No, no. I'm not... Lenny. What? Like this. Oh, no. Ah. Aah. Oh, just get it over with! Wait a minute. Do me a favor. Don't chew me. I'm not for that. I'm not gonna eat ya. Don't do the whole head-trip thing with me. Listen to me. Don't move until I tell you. Back up! That's it, Len. There you go, buddy. Wave those fins, baby. Dig in. I'm just pretending so you can get away. Huh? When I turn around, you take off! Tastes just like chicken. Mm. Mmm! Oh, no. Oh! What did I tell you? Oh! I'm sorry. You want me to go now? Just go! That's it. I've had it up to here. Ooh! Oh, no! Hurry! Swim! No, Frankie. Wait! Oh! Get your boy! Get your boy! Frankie! Lenny... Lenny, is that you? I'm here, Frankie. Come closer. Yes? What is it? I'm so cold. That's just because we're cold-blooded. Ow! Moron. Frankie, no. No! This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Frankie. How am I ever gonna explain this to Pop? Oh, no! Watch it! Back up! I'm crazy! I be tripping! Whoa. Oh. Ow! What the... Don't hurt us. We're sorry. It was all Ernie's idea. Oscar... Did you kill that shark? Uh... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exac... Exactly how it look, that's how it is. What happened? Oh, you... You wanna know what happened? Yeah. You're standing on top of a shark. Yeah. Go on, mon. I'll tell you what happened! Big ol' shark, about 75, 100 feet long. He's swimming at me. Right? With teeth like razors! Ooh! Razors! Ha! And I was all like, "You gonna come at me like that?" You're gonna come at the "O" like that? Uh-uh. Hey! Do the muscle thing. The muscle thing. Oh. Right, right. I told that dude, "You see this guy?" And I pointed like this. "Well, he's got a brother, and he lives right over here, "and I think it's time for a little... "family reunion!" Family reunion! See, man? I told you. Excuse me. We were right there! Pardon me.

Move it! Whoa. Sorry. Sorry. She seems so nice on TV. Oscar, Katie Current. As the first fish in history to ever take on a shark and win, tell me, does this mean you're now protector of the reef, new sheriff in town, the big kahuna? Katie, I'm gonna keep it real. I can call you Katie? Of course. Any shark try to mess around in Oscartown is going down! Yeah, it's poetic. In the heat I get poetic! Oscar. Mmm. Oscar. Okay. Get outta here, you barracudas. Any further questions will be fielded by me. And you are? His manager. Uh... Sykes, with a "Y." And I'm his financial adviser! You wanna see my puppets? Hello! Could you excuse us for a moment, please? My manager? You're a superstar. We're gonna make a fortune. Let me handle it. What about the five G's? Forget the five G's. From now on, we're partners. What exactly are we talking about? I'm thinking 90-10 split. That's pretty generous. You're the 10. I take my 90 off the top. I don't think so. Talk to me. You get 15. 70. 20. 75. Dude! You're going the wrong way. 50-50. You happy? No. You happy? No! Deal! Uh, my manager and I are now prepared to take your questions. Oscar, are you going to continue working here at the wash? Please. I barely work here now. Keep it up, kid. You're slaying 'em. No! He's slaying sharks! Hey. Hey, that's good. That's good. I like that. Oscar the Sharkslayer. All right. Whoa! A sharkslayer! You heard it here first. From now on, any shark tries to bother this reef, it's his funeral. I could fly higher Than an eagle If you are the wind Beneath my wings Frankie, we'll miss you. To Frankie. It's a terrible thing, Don Lino. Everybody loved Frankie. May whoever did this die a thousand deaths. May his stinking, maggot-covered corpse rot in the fiery depths of hell. Thank you for your kind thoughts, Giuseppe. Oh, and may Lenny be found safe and sound, too. Hope he's okay. Oh, Lenny. Don't worry, boss. I said some things to him. We gotta find him. We're searching everywhere. Forget about it. He'll turn up. What's wrong with that kid? Why's he gotta be so different? Frankie, God rest his soul, he was perfect. Perfect! Oh, Luca. Who could've done this? Don Lino, at this most difficult time, please accept my deepest condolences. Thank you, Don Feinberg, for honoring my son with your song. I got some news, about the guy who took out Frankie. Let's, uh... Yeah, let's talk over here. He come out of nowhere, this guy. Calls himself, "The Sharkslayer." Ira, over here. Sorry. The Sharkslayer! Where do I find him? He's from the Southside Reef. That's all we could dig up. Thank you. Thank you. Any requests? Luca. How about that Titanic song? Oh, no! Not again! Get Sykes. He knows that reef better than anybody. I wanna find this guy. I wanna know everything about him. I wanna know where he lives, where he sleeps. He pops a gill, I wanna know about it. Who is this Sharkslayer? Here he is, the Sharkslayer! I think I love you, baby What you feel now I think need you, baby What you know now Uh-uh, uh-huh To be real Uh-huh, mmm-hmm, whoo Your love's for real now You know that your love And my love My love is here to stay Let's get this party started right! What you find now What you feel now Here he is, the Big O! Psych! Pound that, dog! Pound it! Oscar, raise the reef! Raise the reef, buddy! Uh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Huh? Hot! Yeah, that's pretty... That's pretty... Come on, cabbage patch! Cabbage patch. Angie, you made it! Wait, wait! You're gonna break my gift! Oh, come on. You didn't have to get me anything. What'd you get me? Well, what does every bachelor pad need, huh? A lava lamp! How did you know I love lava lamps? I'm gonna put it right here next to my other one. Hey, come on, Ang! I wanna show you the best thing about this place. Wow! How great is this view? Top of the reef. It's... It's amazing. I know. It's beautiful, right? Like you. Like your new apartment. It's... Wow! Awesome! What I'm trying to say is that I'm proud of you, Oscar. Yeah. It was... It was nothing, really. You know? Hey! Oh! You know what? Wait right here. Don't move. I'll be right back. Girl,

you are gonna flip! Boop! I'm back. Oh, you're back! You know what, Ang? Where I am right now, this whole new life I've got and all my dreams coming true, in a weird kinda way, well, I never could've done it without you. Oh, sure, you could. Well, probably not. Ang. Here. Oh, Oscar! I know, I know. I'm just sorry that it took so long. Oh, that's okay. Bam! Huh? My grandmother's pearl. With interest! Now, I don't forget anything, and I never forget who my friends are. Oh. Ang, uh... Oh, hi. I'm not interrupting something, am I? Yes, we're talking. No! Uh-uh. Hey, Lola. Wow! You're here! Oh! Uh, hey, you... You gotta come best my meet friend, Angie. Eat my best men, Wangie. Best friend? Oh, that's sweet. So you won't mind if I steal him for a while then, will you? So, look who's a somebody after all. Well, you know, uh... Sharks! On the... On the edge of the reef! They're... They're Great Whites! Sharks! Okay, everybody, go home to your loved ones! Spend the last few hours that you have with each other. Oh! I mean... That's the way it used to be around here. We'd have been all scrambling for cover and stuff, but not since Oscar came to town! So, Lola, uh, baby, just wait here. I'm gonna be right back. I'm gonna go ahead, take care of these sharks. Go get 'em, tiger! Whoo! Biceps, triceps! Grr! All right, Oscar! You're the best! Go get 'em, Oscar! Grr! Lenny! Where the heck is he? Lenny! Hey, what are you doing? There's a sharkslayer out here. You wanna be next? Oh, yeah. Lenny! Lenny! Ooh. That was close. Super close. Don't panic. Quiet! We're safe. Oh, no, not you again! Yeah. What was that? Yo! What is with you, man? Shh! He could be anywhere. Who? Shh! The Sharkslayer. There's no sharkslayer out here. Yes, there is! No, there is not. Trust me on this one. Get a hold of yourself, man! This is no time to act crazy! You the one acting crazy, crazy! You're right, you're right, you're right. I'm sorry. I haven't been myself since the, uh... The, uh... Don't cry. Oh, no! No, no. It's not all that. Just relax. It's my fault, kinda. Not really, but still... Hey, um... My brother. You just need a little time, man. Things will work out. You think? Yeah! So, look, um... I'm gonna take off, and you should just go home, okay? Okay. All right. Hey, good luck, dog. Wait! Uh... What, man? I didn't catch your name. Oscar. I'm Lenny. Hi. Hi. Where... Where... Where do you live? Lenny, where I come from, fish don't like to get grabbed by sharks, okay? Sorry. Now, go home! There is no home for me anymore. Don't you understand that? You're too big to be grabbing on me. Take me home with you. Shh! You won't notice I'm there. I'm like the invisible shark. Are you crazy? Please! I'm begging you! Don't leave me alone! Shh! Yo! Put your fins on the wall where I can see 'em! Shh! Gotcha! Hey! Yo, the shorties! Oscar! What y'all doing here? Check out my mad burner. Check it out. Whoomp, there it is How ya like that? Y'all kids got some skills. It's wild style, dude. Mmm-hmm. What did I tell you? You kids shouldn't even be doing this. And besides, it's not safe to be out here at night. It is now, bro-bro! You the Sharkslayer! Yeah, bro. Yeah. Sharkslayer? What was that? Sometimes I'll be coughing for nothing. Look, I just need you off of these streets. Oh, come on, Oscar. Get your butts home. I know your moms. I'm gonna tell 'em y'all doing bad stuff. Let's go make Mr. Sykes puff up. Yeah! Bye, Oscar! See ya later, dude! Lenny! Did you see what just happened there? I know. They think you're the Sharkslayer. As if! I don't appreciate your funky tone, actually. No, wait up! Hey! I'm sorry. Seriously. I don't want you mad at me, and I certainly don't want you to slay me. You having a good time, huh? You're enjoying yourself? Well, for your information, I am the Sharkslayer! Oscar the Sharkslayer. That's what people be saying. Wait. You mean you... Yeah. When the anchor... Oh, you're a liar. Hey, I didn't lie, all right? All right, I lied. But it was a little lie! Come on! Who's it gonna hurt anyway? Go ahead. I'm not explaining myself to you. You

know what? You're on your own! No problem. And if, God forbid, someone should, oh, I don't know, find out the truth about the Sharkslayer on my way back... You wouldn't. I would. Uh... Come here! Of course you can come with me. But, you know, I mean, you're a shark, and I'm a sharkslayer. So we can't be seen together. You dig, dog? Dig! Dug. Dug dig. Dig dog. Yeah. Yo, diggy dog! Just... Come on! Okay, Lenny. Follow my every move, and don't make a sound. You got it. Ooh, an echo. Echo. Now, batting for the Southside Sharks, number 15... Ow! It's not okay to hit! Ain't nothing to it If you wanna get down We can do it, do it Ain't nothing to it Keep stepping With your new suede shoes on Boys and girls Let's all sing along Everybody just get On a good foot Oh, Lord - Ooh ooh Get on a good foot Oh, Lord Ooh-whee. Shh! Get on a good foot Ow! Aah! Ow! Get your tail in there! Think anybody heard that? Ooh! Ow! Who was that? Huh? Who? Who's out there? Yo, Crazy Joe! I thought I heard something. Did you get that shark? You have no idea, Joe. That's great! Well, gotta go. My show's on. All right, we're safe. For now. Ah. Hey, a bed! Huh? Oh! Oh, yeah. That's good. Oh, that's heaven. Yeah. Oh, snuggly, buggly, wuggly. I love you, man. Whoa! Hold up! You're my new best friend. Stop it. Okay, you wanna be friends? Fine. But we gotta lay down some rules. Rule number one, no "snuggly, buggly," whatever that just was. You got it. Anything else? Rule number two, and this is the most important rule. In the event that possibly you get hungry... Don't worry. I'm not gonna eat anyone. In case you haven't noticed, I'm different from the other sharks. Let's put it that way, leave it at that. Good night. Define "different." You'll laugh. I'm not gonna laugh. That's what you say, and then what happens later? You laugh. Lenny, I give you my word. Okay. I will tell you. I'm... I'm a vegetarian. Hold up. So, that's it? What do you mean, "That's it?" You're the first fish I ever told. I'm so tired of keeping it all a secret. And my dad... Whoa! Hey! He'll never accept me. What's wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with you, man. I think all sharks should be like you. That's sweet of you to say. And stop blaming yourself for what happened. Really? If you wanna blame anybody, blame me. If I hadn't been out there in the first place, none of this would have happened. Yeah. Gee, if Pop knew that, he'd ice you for sure. "Ice"? What is he, the Godfather or something? Yeah. What you mean, "Yeah"? Yeah, he is. Hey, are you all right? I told ya! I'm doing it! X, circle, X, X, double left, square, right trigger, down, square, square. Oh! Double square. Respect. Respect. Oh, yeah? Well, I've got news for you. The Sharkslayer made me his manager, so I'm now what I like to call "untouchable." You hear me? Sykes. Hey, Oscar. Ow! Hey! Sykes. There he is, my brother, my player, the Sharkslayer. Sykes, listen... And another thing, from now on, you're gonna have to start paying me protection. The deal is off. That shark I killed was Don Lino's son. I know. Ain't it great? Not if he finds out. What do you mean, "Find out"? I've got him on phone right now. That's right, Lino, I got the Sharkslayer right here in front of me. Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm. And he's gonna slay you and all your sharks. Sykes, shut up! Shut up! Hey, that's good. I like that. Shut up, Lino. Ha! Shut up! What? Oh. Kid, he wants to talk to you. I'm not here. He's right here. Hello! "Shut up"? "Shut up"? You don't tell me, "shut up." I tell you, "shut up." Hello? How you doing? Let me have a pie with everything on it. Anchovies, meatballs, mushrooms. Luca. Oh. Hi, Boss, what are you doing working in a pizza joint? Get off the phone! But I'm hungry. My guys are coming for you, Sharkslayer. They're gonna tear you fin from fin. Now who's your puff daddy? Huh? Who takes care of you? Huh? Huh? Come on, you two, we got work to do. I was winning. Sykes, you got it all wrong. They're gonna write songs about you, kid. Oh, the shark bites With his teeth, dear Sing it, mon. And then Oscar Kicked his butt Sykes! Sykes, man!

Come on! Maybe I can help. Ooh! Hey, Lola! What are you doing here? You just be popping up sometimes, places. Well, you said to wait, so... I've been waiting. Uh... Look, uh, I don't have a lot of time for the whole hand-clappy, making-the-lights-go-off, music-playing-in-the-dark thing, you know? What are you afraid of? Afraid? Yeah, that's funny. I ain't afraid of nothing. It's just... Ooh! Oh, baby, you are so tense. Yeah, I've been stressed lately. You know, protecting the reef. I do that by myself, you know. It's just... Just crazy. It's just too much. It's piling up. Yeah. Just one thing on top of the other. Actually, I was thinking about retiring. You don't wanna do that. I don't? You have worked your way to the top. You don't wanna go back to the bottom, do you? No. No. No way. You just show 'em who's boss, and those sharks will leave you alone. Yeah. You're right. Lenny. Psst. Lenny, where are you? Hello, Oscar. Angie! Hey. What are you doing here? What, Oscar, did you forget something? Um... Uh... You know... Oh, maybe you forgot your shark! Hi. Uh... Shark! Swim, Angie. I'll cover you. Quick, before it's too late. Go on without me. Oh, stop it. Your pet shark told me everything. Dang, Lenny. Why would you do that? I don't know. I like her. Thank you. I like you, too. What were you thinking bringing him in here? I'm still working out the kinks. "Kinks?" You lied. Everybody thinks you "slayed" the shark. Who am I to tell them that they're wrong? How could you lie to me, Oscar? Me! Don't take it personally. I lied to everybody. All right, I'm sorry. I totally betrayed you. I got just one little problem I got to take care of. Oh, what's that? Sharks are coming to get me! And they should! What did you expect? You take credit for killing a shark, and then everything will be fine and dandy for the rest of your life? Uh... Yeah. But don't you worry. Me and Lenny got it. We gonna fix it. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's with the "We?" I don't want any part of this. Too late now, veggie boy. They'll be looking for you, too. Point taken. What's the plan? This is what we do. Oscar, here's the plan. You tell the truth, and you go home. This is what we gonna do, right? We gonna paint you up all bloody. A mess, right? Then you'll swim out and meet the sharks before they get here. Then you gonna say, "Stop! Don't go no farther. "That Sharkslayer's crazy, man. "He beat me senseless. "He's a stone-cold killer, man." You could tell 'em I'm huge. Tell them I'm handsome. You could throw that in. You're going way too far. Actually, he hasn't gone far enough. Exactly. What? You need to slay a shark, and I need to disappear. Here's what we're gonna do. This is Katie Current reporting live. We've had unconfirmed reports of... Da-da-da! Look! It's the Sharkslayer! Da-da-da-da Holy mackerel! Did we get that? Hey, Ang. Oscar's on the TV. Show me that. Go ahead with your bad self. Ugh. Do you hear them, Lenny? They are going crazy. They love us. They love you. They hate me. What? Can we switch sides? Maybe I can be the Fishslayer. They'll never see it coming. Come on. You sell this, you'll never have to go home again. You can start a new life. Give me a growl. Okay. Like that? That was... pretty good. Let's go. Is that all you're offering? Do you understand how huge my client is? Turn on your TV right now. Wait, Lenny. Hold up. Lenny! Lenny! Lenny! Lenny! Turn off your TV! Turn off your TV! Don't swallow. Oscar? No. It's Pinocchio. Of course it's me. Why did you do that? I'm sorry. No, no. Sorry is when you step on somebody's fin at the movie theater. Sorry is when you say, "When is the baby due?" and the person is just fat. This is as far away from sorry as you could possibly get. But, Oscar, I think I'm gonna puke. No, no, no. No, no, no. Lenny, just open up nice and easy. Are you not entertained? Go, Oscar, man! You can't handle the truth! Go get 'em, Oscar! You had me at hello! Turn your TV back on. What are you doing turning your TV off? Turn it on! Yippee-ki-yay! Go, Oscar! Whoo-hoo! This reef is huge. How we supposed to find the

Sharkslayer? This is it, Lenny. Big finish. Just like we practiced. The flying fish. The flying fish? A little help here, buddy boy. Sorry. Thank you. Whoa. Curse you, Sharkslayer! Yeah. And you tell Don Lame-O that I don't never, ever, ever, ever, ever, never wanna see another shark on this reef again. Ever! Oh! Remember this name, Oscar the Sharkslayer! Aha! You see? You see? Huh? Oscar, bumaye! Oscar, bumaye! Oscar, bumaye! Oscar, bumaye! Ah! Oh, look at Oscar. Oscar, bumaye! Oscar, bumaye! Whoo! Hey, Lo... Seems the Sharkslayer not only conquered a few sharks today, but maybe a few hearts. Has the reef's most eligible bachelor been snapped up? I'm Katie Current, here live watching the Sharkslayer making out. Hey, Angie, can you hand me the blue one? Thank you. Hey! Who stepped in the room? Ho, ho, ho, yeah! Oscar and Lenny. What a team, baby. Unh. Give me some fin. High fin. Low fin. Yo, did you see me? I was like... Ha-ha! I was great! When you punched me, and the crowd was, "Ahh!" They ate it up. Angie, you ain't know I had it in me, did you? It was like an Oscar-splosion. How good was I? You was the bomb. Thank you. Thank you. And hey, hey, hey. Casanova. I saw your big finish on the news. Nice smooch, lover boy. Ixnay on the iskay, man. That's private. It's private. Private? The entire reef saw you do it. Hey, whoa, somebody's in a bad mood. Ang, let me see the smile. Show me the smile, baby. Knock it off. Uh... What has gotten into you? Me? Oh, I swear, sometimes I wanna take your big dumb dummy head and just... Ang, what is the problem? There's no problem. I don't have any problem. Miss Perfect is the one with the problem. Um, hey, you guys. What do you got against Lola? Not my lips, that's for sure. Ooh. What's going on? Uh, I'm gonna stay out of this one. Why would you even care about Lola? I don't. You don't? No. "No," what? I don't know. Guys, you wanna... No! No! Just tell me, Oscar, 'cause I'm curious. Why do you think she's interested, huh? Do you think for one minute that she would even be with you if you weren't the rich and famous Sharkslayer? Please don't fight. Are you that blind? At least she treats me like I'm somebody. Would she love you if you were nobody? Nobody loved me when I was nobody! I did! Before the money...And before the fame. Before the lie. To me, you were a somebody, Oscar. Now you're nothing but a fake. A sham. A con. You're a joke. Here I come. Ta-da! Sebastian The whale-washing dolphin Angie... No. Forget it. Just go, 'cause I'm tired of hearing how everything you had in your life wasn't good enough. Including me. Angie. Oh, honey, I'm... I'm sorry. Go... Go back and do it again. Hey, come on. It'll be okay. One shot to your heart Without breaking your skin No one has the power To hurt you like your kin Kept it inside Didn't tell no one else... You can't handle the truth! You've got shark breath! And now you only have Yourself to blame If you continue To live this way Get it together You wanna heal your body Get it together You have to heal your heart... What you kids doing? How many times I have to tell you? It's past your bedtime. Go on. Go on. Hey, what are you kids up to? That looks pretty good. You guys should do this for a living. Ooh You can fly, fly, fly, fly You can live or you can die You know that life Is a choice you make You can give or you can take You can fly, fly, fly, fly You can fly, fly, fly, fly It slays hemorrhoids like Oscar slays sharks. Oh. Hey, Oscar. Preparation O. Angie was right. I am a joke. Hey, Sharkslayer. Why are you out here? All your friends are inside. Not all my friends. You mean that little bottom-feeder from the Whale Wash? Forget about her. She's a nobody. No. I'm the nobody. Oh, let me guess. She told you that she loves you. Is that it? It's not like you feel the same way about her. I don't think this is gonna work out. Wait. Are you dumping me? Let me explain something to you. We're gonna party like it's your birthday Ha! Young love. Ooh Sugar pie, honey bunch You know that I love you I can't help myself I love you and nobody else...

Hey, Oscar! I can't talk. I got to find Angie. I need to tell her I love her. You come and you go Way to go, Oscar! Irie. Whale Wash... Gimme the phone. Where you get a whale of a wash. Gimme back the phone. And the price is... Very, very low, considering how good the wash is. Good one, Ernie. How many times do I have to tell you? It's "gosh." "You get a whale of a wash and the price, oh, my gosh." Me get it, mon. Whale Wash. Rhymes with "gosh." Give me that. Get out of here. Go be useless someplace else. Sykes, where's Angie? You tell me. Whale Wash. You get a whale of a wash... Oh. Huh. It's for you. Huh? Hello. - Is this the Sharkslayer? Yeah. Who's this? It's Luca, the octo... I mean, forget about it. Now you follow these instructions to the letter like, okay? File cabinet, top drawer. There's a package. Get it. That's right, tough guy. We got your girl. There's going to be a sit-down in one hour. Who is it? Shh! Be there, if you don't wanna see her sleeping with the fishes. The dead ones. Now, nod your head if you understand. Now, tell me if you nodded your head. I nodded. They got Angie, and they want a sit-down. I never meant for anybody to get hurt, especially not Angie. This is all my fault. Classic move. I've seen it a thousand times. They take the thing you love the most, and then they use it against you. We got to go to that sit-down and save her. Whoa, whoa. I wanna save Angie, too, but I can't waltz in there and say, "Hi, Pop. I'm a dolphin." Lenny? "And the Sharkslayer's a fake." Fake? We're gonna need a better plan. This is a joke, right? This is a joke. Because I told Lino... Shut up, Lino! Shut up! Tell me you didn't make it all up. Tell me that's not Lenny. Tell me you're a real sharkslayer, please. I'm sorry, Sykes. I'm not. But the sharks don't know that. Stop screwing around. This will never work. We're dead. We're dead. Shh. Thank you, Sykes. Thank you. And my man Sykes has just begged me not to murderlize all y'all up in here. Now, I might listen to him, but then again, I might not. And that depends on the individual behavior of all the individuals in here, individually. Ain't that right? Look. He's got dolphin muscle. My Uncle Vito got whacked by one of those. Which one of you sardines called this meeting? That would be me. So, this is the Sharkslayer. I've been looking forward to meeting you. I feel like we're practically family. You know that? Funny, ain't it? I brought my kids into the world full of love and care, and you took 'em out. You know who I am? Do you know who I am? I'm the Don, the boss of the great white sharks. Boss, I saved you a seat. I've been running this reef since before you was born.If you thought a guy like me can't get to a guy like you...Guess what?You thought wrong. Man, you the one who's wrong. I barely know that girl. What's your name, miss? Oh, yeah? Well, I say he's bluffing. Marone, if I wasn't married. How ya doing, pretty lady? Ugh. Lola. We meet again. You know, Sharkslayer, there's only one thing I like better than money, revenge. Oh, I'm in love. Your shark slaying days are over, and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Huh? What's so funny? Ow! You got nothing. Nothing! Sebastian, take her out. Da-da-da-da da-da-da-da Can't touch this Da-da-da-da da-da-da-da Can't touch this Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh Stop! Oscar time! Okay, new rules. Nobody, I repeat, nobody makes a move without my okay. I am the Panama Canal, baby. From now on, everything... ...flows through me. Huh? What'd he do? I can't see it. You don't lose a tooth. You don't grow one back without my okay. Okay? Okay? Okay. If you sneeze, you don't wipe that boogie without my okay. Okay? Okay. All right. And you don't say "okay" without my okay. Okay? Uh-oh. Okay. Thank you all for coming. Good meeting. We got to go. Oh, and one more thing. What is with all y'all living in the Love Boat? Oscar. Y'all supposed to be the Mob. Get yourselves a real hideout. Oscar. And take a good look, Lino. It's over. You're old school. Oscar! What? Oh! The horror! The horror! Um, excuse me. Ang, are you

okay? No, I am not okay. He ate me! I couldn't take it. The taste was killing me. Lenny? Is that you? You're alive? Oh. I thought I lost you. What are you wearing? Huh? What is that? Whoa! Ho-ho ho! Hey, Boss, it's Lenny. He was wearing a disguise so we wouldn't recognize him. But now he's not wearing a disguise, so we do recognize him. Hi, Pop. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how this looks? This is the best sit-down I've ever been to. What are you doing with this guy? He took out your flesh and blood, Frankie. But, Pop, just listen... But nothing. You never take sides against the family. Ever! Hey, Don, Lino, sir. It's not his fault. This is between you and me. What did I ever do to you? You took Frankie away, and you turned Lenny into a dolphin! I'm gonna get you. Oscar, look out! Oscar, swim for your life! You're gonna regret the day you became the Sharkslayer. Well, well, well. Look who's stuck in the porthole. Huh? You still hungry, big guy? Well, say hello to my little friends. Try it again. Whale Wash, you get a whale of a wash and the price... Oh, my gosh! All right! You got it right. You got it right. Move! Everybody, out of the way! Blow out! Come on, Lino. It's time to clean up your act. Pop, leave him alone! All right, Lino, game's over. Ah! Ooh! Lenny? What are you doing in there? Sorry. Where's Lino? He's right behind me, isn't he? You're mine now. Whoa! Let's finish this, Sharkslayer. Oh, we're about to. Thank you for coming to Whale Wash. Okay, somebody needs to get me out of the bubble, today. Ooh. Angie... The Sharkslayer has done it again. This time luring two sharks into his deathtrap of hygiene. Oscar, you're the somebody everybody wants to be. Angie! The top of the food chain. Tell our cameras how it feels to be you. Oscar, get me out here. Quick. I need to get a head start so I can get as far away as possible. Look what you did to him. It's all a big misunderstanding. Sharkslayer, over here. If you'd just... Sharkslayer! Sharkslayer! Sharkslayer! Sharkslayer! Sharkslayer! Stop! I am not a real sharkslayer! I lied. What? And I'm not a real financial adviser. Okay. It was an anchor that killed Frankie. I didn't have anything to do with it, and neither did Lenny. If that was true, why did you run away? Because you always wanted me to be like Frankie. I'll never be the shark you want me to be. What is your problem? So your son likes kelp. So his best friend's a fish. So he likes to dress like a dolphin. So what? Everybody loves him just the way he is. Why can't you? Don't make the same mistake that I did. I didn't know what I had until I lost it. Will you get me out of this? So I can hug my kid and tell him I'm sorry. Pop. Come here, you. I love you, son, no matter what you eat or how you dress. Oscar? Angie? Ah, Angie. I wish I knew now what I knew then. I mean, I wish you knew what I knew... Uh, I mean, before this. You're blowing it, man! Mind your business. It's emotional and it's pressure. What I'm saying, I just... I didn't need the top of the reef. Everything I wanted was right there in front of me the whole time. Well, what about being a somebody? I'm nobody without you. You're not helping. Oh, come here, you big dumb dummy-head. I never told you two this, but you're the best henchmen a guy ever had. Come on. Group hug. Ow! Hey! Sorry, mon. Sorry. Come, Sykes, try again, mon. Go for it. Oh, forget it. The moment's gone. So, uh, Lino... Uh, Don... We cool, right? Like, the reef is safe. You know, walk the streets without... Aah! You know. Yeah. We're cool. Oscar, excuse me. Oscar. You've lost everything you lied so hard to achieve. Tell me, what's next for you? Come on. Everyone's waiting, Mr. Manager. Just got to put the finishing touch on my new desk. Love you, Pop. Yo, dog! Sykes! All right, partner, let's see what you can do. Sykes and Oscar's Whale Wash is now open for business! Yo, E, B, let's get this party bump-bump-bumping! Yo, yo! It's E and B on the wheels of steel! Yo, Christina, Missy, how about we have a little Oscar-licious

fun? Y'all small tuna fish I'm one big catch You might not ever get rich Warm it up. I be warming it up. Let me tell you, it's better Than digging a ditch There ain't no telling Who you might meet A movie star Or maybe a common thief Working at the car wash Okay, Jimbo, let it go! At the car wash, yeah Yeah At the car wash Sing it with me Hey, Angie. Sorry Pop and I are late, but we brought some new customers. Hey, how you doing? Wow! Okay, guys, come on in! This ain't no place to be If you plan on being a star Let me tell ya It's always cool And the boss don't mind Sometimes if you're acting Like a fool Working at the car wash No. Snap it. You're not snapping it. I'm snapping it. I'm snapping it. It's okay. A lot of Great Whites can't do it, yo. Yo? Yo, what's up? What's up with what? Yo, yo, yo. Yo, yo, yo. You say "yo" one more time, and I'm gonna yo you. I'm sorry. Okay, dude, I pimped your hide. All right Check me out. Hey, you think this is funny? What am I, a clown to you? Get your car wash today Give it up right away Car wash Keep up with me. Don't let me lose ya. You know I'll lose ya. In your face. Shark's lair Bow down, playa What you got? You don't want none of this! Break it down, fellas! Nine to five, I gotta keep That fat stack coming Work and work You got served! Working at the car wash Yeah At the car wash, yeah Come on, work, baby Work it, say now At the car wash Hey At the car wash, yeah Come on, work, baby Work it, say now At the car wash Ohh Working at the car wash, yeah So come on, come on Come on, come on, come on Now, keep it coming So, you may not Ever get rich, but I This is a Shark Tale exclusive. Hey Hey, get your car wash today Hey Get your car wash today Phenomenal hit Hello? Hello! Oscar? Listen, baby, I know I was a bad girl, but come on. You'd have to be crazy not to take me back. Did someone say "crazy"? Taxi! Hey, taxi! Hello! Hey, you gonna eat the rest of your popcorn? Too much butter! Hey! A nacho! You're not even halfway done yet. What? You see this guy? He hardly worked on the movie at all! Always on the phone, yakking, yakking, yakking. Hah! Man, have you guys seen what's playing next door? Hoo-hoo! Stinky! What you doing? Go on! Get out of here! Go home! It's past your bedtime!

nother pic of my little cheeto puff

#mutual spamming

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silverfootstepswrites · 6 years ago

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Lullaby [20%]

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Read Equinox here and come back!

“It’s too hot,” Sakura sighed.

“Sorry about the AC. Should I turn up the fan?”

“Turn off the sun, please,” she groaned, rolling onto her back on the floor of his living room.

“I could try. But that might kill the whole planet, you know.”

“Don’t care. I wanna wear socks again. And sweaters. And scaaaarves,” she whined. She rolled over again, rubbing her face against the front of his shirt.

Kakashi propped himself up on his elbow to watch her tantrum. A smile tugging at his lips. He draped his free arm over her waist.

“Should we go get ice cream?” he suggested.

“Ughhh,” she groaned.

“Come on,” he urged as he sat up. Sakura buried her face in her arms shaking her head. All the talking and moving woke Biscuit, who wandered over from his spot by the door. He stepped over Kakashi’s leg to nudge Sakura’s arm. She wrapped her arm around him and hugged him close to her chest.

“Biscuit, make summer end. Mommy’s dying,” she lamented. Biscuit’s wide eyes flew to Kakashi, who laughed.

“Alright, let’s go. Ice cream time,” Kakashi decided. He lifted her easily, throwing her over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Her laughter filled the house as he carried her out into the hall.

“Let me try a bite.”

Kakashi held out his frozen yogurt bar. It was the prettiest shade of light green, dotted with pieces of brittle.

“I’ve never been a pistachio person. This is pretty good,” she had to admit. He gave her a smug look. She pushed him with her shoulder. Their sandals lay abandoned near the plastic bag from the grocery store.

They sat on the concrete patio behind Kakashi’s house. He had turned on the fan. It didn’t help with the humidity, but the air blowing over their backs did feel nice. She leaned against his arm until eventually he lifted it to drape it over her shoulders instead.

The crickets and cicadas seemed to be competing to see who could be louder that night. Their combined songs filled the balmy air. But that was as much a part of summers in Old Pines as everything else. When she had first moved to town, the sound had kept her up at night. Now, she had trouble sleeping without the serenade on the hottest nights.

Sakura held up her spoon. “Say aah.”

He reached for the spoon, but she yanked it away from him. “Say it,” she insisted.

Kakashi sighed. “I can feed myself.” But he still lowered his hand. She fed him a bite of her strawberry ice cream. And then pecked him on the mouth before she acted like nothing had happened.

Kakashi mashed his lips together. Trying to hold in both the ice cream and a laugh. Sakura went on eating her little cup of ice cream. Humming to herself as she tapped her bare feet on the concrete.

“Sakura.”

“Mhm?”

“Can you finish your ice cream quickly?”

“Why should I do that, Kakashi?” she asked, not looking up at him. She bit back a smile when she felt him grab her free hand in the darkness. His palm damp with sweat..

“I want to go back inside.” He squeezed her hand a little as he added in a small voice, “...please.”

“Why? To play chess? Read a book?”

“Sakura,” he groaned, his head falling on her shoulder as she laughed a little harder.

“Okay, okay. I’ll be right there. I can’t say no to those puppy eyes,” she relented.

A few days later, Sakura woke in the middle of a dream. A little unsure of whether she was still sleeping or not. Her bulky but reliable air conditioner hummed out back, pumping cold air into her house. Because even in the summer, she liked to sleep under the covers.

She lifted her head, eyes cracking open. Her phone sat on the nightstand where she had tossed it the night before. She had forgotten to charge it. The blinds next to the window were shut, but she could still see the sunlight trying to peer in past the slats.

“Whozzat?” she mumbled as she heard a click.

The back door opened, footsteps clomping into the kitchen.

“It’s me,” Kakashi called back. She could hear the rustle of plastic. And the tap of little black nails on the floor.

Sighing, Sakura flopped back onto the pillow. She heard the jangle of keys before they hit the kitchen counter. Cabinet doors opening and closing. And then, several seconds later, she heard his footsteps approaching. She cracked an eye open, arms stretched out at her sides.

“Long night?” asked Kakashi from the doorway.

She grunted, eye drifting shut.

“Alright. Sorry for waking you. Go back to sleep,” he replied. He took a few more steps. She felt him smooth his hand over her hair, pressing a kiss to her temple. And she sort-of forgave him for waking her in the first place. Especially when he kissed her forehead too.

Biscuit hopped up onto the bed. He seemed to know that she wasn’t in the mood to play. Instead, the pooch wormed his way under her arm, curling up against her stomach. She slept well, the air conditioner blasting, and the faint tap of a knife against the cutting board drifting in through the crack in the door.

The second time Sakura woke, she felt much less murderous. She sat up, rolling her shoulders a couple times. Biscuit was gone. Rubbing her hand through her hair, Sakura sniffed. She smelled coffee. And something else that made her stomach rumble in anticipation.

As she opened her mouth to call for Kakashi, her eyes fell to the other side of the bed. Kakashi lay on his back, hands folded across his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling. He looked so serious that she refrained from speaking. It seemed like he had something profound to say.

“Even your snoring sounds pretty,” he finally sighed.

“I don’t snore!” she exclaimed.

“You do. It’s adorable,” Kakashi stuck to his story. And then he turned his head to look at her. She tried to scowl at him. But it didn’t last for long as he reached up to run his fingers along her cheek. She bent her head so that he could reach, his teasing forgiven right away.

“I didn’t ask before. But are you sure you were just tired? You seemed... upset,” Kakashi then brought up. His hand fell back onto the bed.

Sakura’s smile dimmed. Her mouth twisted to one side.

“Just... my head’s been busy, I guess,” she confessed. She ran her fingers through her hair, just to have something to do with it.

When he smiled at her, she returned the expression. Almost like a reflex. And it was just as reflexive to close her eyes when he leaned in to kiss her. Soft and lingering, just like his hands as they ran over her hair, down her back. His forehead pressing against hers as he inhaled. Exhaled even more slowly.

“Breakfast?”

He had made a fluffy omelet for breakfast. She sat at the kitchen table, her chin resting on her fists as she watched him. Biscuit wandered over to sit at her feet. He knew better than to try to beg Kakashi for scraps when he cooked.

Kakashi draped a towel over his shoulder as he reheated the skillet. He popped slices of bread into the toaster oven as he waited for the pan to heat.

There was something incredibly attractive about a man who knew his way around the kitchen. She especially liked watching his arms and shoulders as he used the spatula or reached for something across the counter. Although, her personal favorite was watching his hands as he sliced vegetables with precise movements. Unfortunately, she had missed out on that part of the cooking process this time around.

“Honey?”

“Mhm?” she replied, only half-listening.

Kakashi turned to look at her. He had found a jar of honey in the cabinet. “I meant, do you want honey on your toast?”

“Oh.... yeah.” Sakura blinked a few times. As he twisted the cap off the honey, he turned his attention back to the stove. He nudged the knob to lower the heat. The contents of the frying pan sizzled a little more quietly.

“Are you a ... pet name person?” Kakashi asked.

Sakura considered this for a moment. “I’m a nickname person, I guess. I mean, all my friends call me Bunny,” she finally admitted. And then she tilted her head as she thought a little harder.

“Kakashi?”

“Yes.”

“Babe?”

He froze.

“Do you not like that?” she inquired.

Hands braced on the counter, Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. When he finally turned to look at her, he suddenly looked very tired.

“Sakura, despite appearances, I’m an old man. My heart can’t take something like that,” he warned her. His hand on his chest for emphasis.

“Aw, you’re young at heart, babe,” Sakura teased, tongue between her teeth as she grinned at him. Kakashi just sighed again. Shaking his head, he pushed off the counter to plate the food.

He set breakfast in front of her a minute later. Thin slices of apple covered the surface of the toast, glistening from the drizzle of honey on top. The butter-colored omelet was flecked with what looked like chives. He had even sliced up strawberries in the shape of hearts to garnish the edges of the dish. But Kakashi didn’t sit like she expected. Before she could ask, Kakashi poured her a cup of coffee fresh from the carafe.

“This looks amazing. Thank you, Kakashi,” Sakura said as he set the mug in front of her. He smiled at her in return. Chair legs scraping against the floor, he finally settled in the seat opposite from her.

She took a big bite of the omelet and then fed him the next slice. They were content to chew in silence for a while. Save for Kakashi’s snorting laugh when Sakura took a bite of her toast and did a little happy dance in her seat.

“I love you,” he suddenly declared as he watched her munch on her toast.

And mouth dotted with crumbs, Sakura barely swallowed her mouthful of food before she replied, “Love you too, babe.”

Kakashi laughed as he reached over to brush the crumbs away with his thumb. And then he leaned across the table to replace his hand with a kiss.

#equinox #lullaby #multisaku #kakasaku #writing #happy valentine's day

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mental-health-advice · 8 years ago

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Submission from Tc16

Hello! (Sorry for going over word count! Here is shorter version:)

last time I messaged you, I was 16 almost 17. I am 18, 19 in June. I messaged about SH but now I’m glad to say Im a year clean! Never talked to The guy I liked.. But as long as he’s happy it’s ok. I messaged about loving pop punk… Now I’m into Elvis Presley, 50s and 60s songs, and Michael Jackson. (this is great because these songs are happy whereas the old songs I listened to, whilst I liked them, I think made me sadder.)

I messaged saying that I wasn’t interesting, I still think that, which I am dealing with, but now I have been learning Spanish (which I might give up), been drawing portraits (which are turning out pretty good), gonna draw more nature and animals soon, and continue playing piano (been playing since Age 14) Do you have any tips to make a person more interesting?

Still have no idea what I want to do with my life. I messaged saying this when I was in grade 12. I graduated in November 2015 and haven’t gotten a job or studied anything because Idk what to study. I literally wasted whole of 2016 doing nothing.. Was on my laptop ALL day everyday because the only friend I had left was always at school or work. This makes me so angry with myself.. I wasted a whole year (and so far of 2017).. it gives me so much anxiety, I’ve wasted the best years of my life. (Because of how bad I was mentally in school, was ALWAYS on my laptop if not at school). My laptop broke December last year bc I dropped it, idk if it’s bad to say, but I’m glad bc now less time wasted.

only thing is… I still have my phone, which now replaces laptop. I don’t waste as much time bc deleted all my social media and I used to sit on YouTube most of the time on laptop, but now I hardly go on YouTube (I still do waste a little time but no where near as much) unless it’s for useful things like music or tutorials. But I do think I can do without my phone. I wish I could give up my phone but I need it to talk to people for things like work (when I get a job), getting pictures to draw, learning Spanish and learning piano songs. Anyway back to the job thing..

my mum is gonna help me do a resume, I have two places where I would like to work, once my resume is done I need to gain the courage and strength to hand them in. I hope I can! Because it’s stressing me out soooo much. can hardly sleep because of it and have so much anxiety, I feel like because no job and no studies, no supporting friends, wasted my teenage years, etc, I feel like I’m ruining my life badly.

reason I have no ‘supporting’ friends is because atm I only have two (rest moved away or stopped taking to me) but one’s moving to a different country soon, and the other isn’t someone I can be around alot because sometimes I feel as though she is fake towards me and using me, and sometimes her personality just doesn’t agree with mine (if that makes sense?)

Also I’ve never had a relationship, I’m really stressing because Ive never even really had a conversation with a guy (was scared of them in school because of a few who used to bully me) and am still kinda scared to talk to them. I’m honestly scared that no one will like me. What can I do? I’m different to alot of people as an effect of what I’ve been through, which adds to my worry that no guys will like me.

thank you sooooo much for replying to me and other people in the past and future!! I really do appreciate it and am grateful for all the times you replied to me in the past!! I truly hope you are all doing okay!!

Hey there, Tc16. Thanks so much for sending in a submission! I am glad that you have been clean from self harm and coping pretty well. You are very welcome for everything. We are happy to help you in everything and try our best in our replies.

I am very glad that you are doing well. I like your taste in music as well. I like pop-punk but agree that it can sometimes be sad. Your new taste is very nice. Also, you will find someone who loves you so it’s okay!

If you are curious as to how to be more interesting, I think it really depends on a few things. I think we are each individual beings who are all interesting. Every person is so unique and interesting. But if you don’t feel interesting, then maybe try to engage more in the things that you do. Take more classes, read more, talk with others, and learn everything that you can. Knowledge makes for a very interesting person.

It is alright that you do not know what you want to do with your life. You need time to decide what you want to do because you are going to be doing it for a long time. I would suggest seeing a therapist to talk about possible career options. They could guide you in the right path of options.

It is great that you are starting to write a resume. That will be good for school and work. It’s also great that you have found some places that you are interested in working. I know you can do it! A job will give you a sense of accomplishment and will give you something to do, plus you make money!

If you get a job there is a possibility of making friends. Just try to talk to people and find out what they are like. You don’t need that many friends, just a few is good enough. I know that you can do it! And with relationships with guys, just act like yourself and try to calm down is what I say. Take everything slow and enjoy it. Try to talk to people ad be friends first. That will make things a lot more comfortable for you. I believe that guys will like you.

Again, thanks for sending in your submission. You’re so welcome and thanks for coming back to mental health advice! I know that you can get through this! Remember that we have a live chat service that is available to everyone. You can send in a request or see if an admin has posted that they are online. If you feel like you are in immediate danger please go to the hospital. I want you to be safe.

I wish you luck!

Contents Page

-Rachel

“The sun will rise and we will try again.”

#mharachel #advice #advice blog #mental health advice #relationships #therapy #interesting #being interesting #making friends #mental illness #tc16

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whereisthefood123 · 8 years ago

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Gajevy-AU Romance through Bachata

So, this is my first time participating in the Gajevy week and I'm super excited about it. I would love to get some feedback on my writting. The inspiration for this story came from my best friend who went through something similar to what Levy will go through in this story.

Hope you like it!

Summary: Modern-AU Levy flies to Cancun, wishing to relax and have fun there. Faith gets her meeting Cana which introduces her to her crazy friends, one of which captures Levy's heart instantly. The night has many surprises for the blunette and for her new person of interest. Drinks, dances and a bonfire at the beach is the perfect set for love to bloom. Especially when Gajeel teaches Levy how to dance bachata and sparks fly all around them.

Words: 8,022

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail characters or the song "Propuesta indecente" by Romeo Santos (put that on youtube when Gajeel starts to sing [because obviously I needed to put Gajeel singing sexy spanish lyrics])

Fanfiction.net

"Urgh! I can't believe them!" a furious Levy exclaimed while closing her hotel room's door quite roughly. Said room was being shared with 3 of her closest friends from the university's book club.

The four girls had agreed to go in a vacation after the semester ended and bought their tickets to go to Cancun, one of the most popular beaches in Mexico. The original plan was to have fun and get a little crazy after the stress of the exams. Well, that's what Levy thought was the original plan.

Once they got into the airplane to go from Austin to Cancun, Trish, Sasha and Clem rounded up on Levy and told her they were going to play nice and not go out to nightclubs or bars. Levy's jaw hung down a little bit in disbelief. All she had been looking for in this trip was to have fun and have couple of drinks and maybe meet new people, but her friends had a completely different idea about what a vacation in Cancun meant.

She had hoped that maybe once arriving to the hotel and seeing the beautiful beach that was just around the corner of their hotel, her friends would change their minds. She had been so wrong…

After having lunch at the hotel's all-you-can-eat buffet, her three friends decided to go and take a nap. Levy suggested going to the beach and relaxing under the sun, but they just refused saying that they didn't wanted to get sunburn. Really?! You fly all the way to Cancun and you don't want to get sunburn! Levy almost yelled at them but decided to let it slide. Maybe after sleeping a little bit, they would be in a better mood to go out and explore the city. Wrong again.

After the 2 hour nap, Clem turned on the TV to find that there was a Harry Potter marathon, to which Sasha and Trish got super excited and settled down on their beds to watch the TV. Levy ignored them and decided to go for a walk at the beach all by herself. Maybe they'll get bored and we'll go out to a bar later tonight she thought. Wrong!

When she came back to the hotel room, it was past 8 pm and the sun had long hid behind the horizon. Levy steeled herself to try to convince her friends to go for, at least, one drink at the hotel's bar. They obviously refused, saying that they were too tired and that there was still two more films before the marathon ended.

That's when Levy snapped. She locked herself in the bathroom and took a quick shower. She then put on her night black dress and arranged her blue curls in a messy high ponytail with a thin black headband holding up the loose strands that tried to cover her face. She applied a little bit of makeup on her face and sprayed her neck with her favorite perfume. She gave herself a quick look in the mirror and decided she was ready to go.

When she got out of the bathroom, her friends stared at her in confusion on why she had prettied up for. "Well, even if you don't want to go out, I do! So I'm heading to the hotel's bar. Don't wait up on me" Levy stated with a posture that emanated confidence. She grabbed her black 5-inch heels along with her purse and walked out the door. Her friends called after her, telling her it was dangerous to go out alone and that she shouldn't go, but Levy was beyond the point of listening them.

Which takes us to where this story began.

"Urgh! I can't believe them!" Levy put on her heels and hastily walked up to the elevator that would take her to the first floor. She was beyond furious! All she wanted to do was to let loose a little bit, but her friends were just too tied up!

Even when Levy wasn't a frequent drinker, she felt the urge to drown her frustration in alcohol.

Once she got to the first floor of the building, she made a beeline to the bar's counter and sat down on one of the empty stools. She propped her elbows on the bar and covered her face with her hands, groaning in frustration. She didn't noticed the strange look the brunette sitting to the right was giving her.

"Tough night, eh?" she said while sipping beer from her mug.

"You have no idea" Levy snorted and looked up to her side to acknowledge the woman. She saw a tall slender woman with brown hair, wearing a red bikini top and tight black jeans. Levy suddenly felt a little self-conscious when she noticed the huge breasts of the brunette and she made an effort not to cover her small chest with her hands.

The woman smiled down to her and extended her hand, which Levy took in hers. "Cana Alberona"

"Levy McGarden" she replied. Then, Cana pulled Levy's hand forward, reached down and kissed Levy's right cheek. Levy pulled back blushing intensely at the gesture. She was just trying to be friendly but maybe this girl was looking for something else that Levy couldn't give her.

Cana cackled loudly. "Yer not from around, right?" Levy shook her head from side to side saying 'no' which earned her another loud laugh from the brunette "That's how we say 'hi' here in Mexico. Don't freak out about it"

Levy smiled at her explanation and laughed nervously "Sorry. Yeah, I just got here today"

"Well, let's give you a proper welcome" Cana exclaimed before downing her beer in one swift motion. Then, she jumped to the other side of the counter and ducked behind it. She grabbed two shot glasses and a tequila bottle from under the bar, she prepared two lime slices with salt, one for Levy and the other one for herself, and finally placed everything on top of the counter.

"So, we are going to play a little game now" Cana said while pouring tequila on the glasses. "Basically, it goes like this. Ya tell a story about anything that happened ta ya and I'll try to guess if it's true or false. If I'm right, ya drink, if not, I drink. Then, I'll tell a story and you try to guess and so on until someone calls it quits. What da ya say?"

Levy took a moment to think about the proposition. It looked like fun and this Cana girl seemed friendly. "Alright, then. You go first" Levy grabbed her lime and her tequila shot. Cana nodded in agreement.

"Okay. So, one time a guy tried to beat me at a drinking contest. After the 20th mug of beer the guy collapsed on the floor, completely wasted and he had to pay for my tab. He ended up paying for 60 drinks in total: he drank 20; I drank 40" Cana said and laughed loudly at the memory of that night.

"Oh, God! That's totally unrealistic! I'll say it's false" Levy said with confidence. She didn't believe there would be someone capable of drinking that much.

"Take the shot. 'Cuz it's totally true!" Cana cackled and Levy grimaced at the taste of the tequila going down her throat. "Lime, lime!" Cana signaled her to bite the lime with salt to ease the taste of the alcohol in her mouth.

Levy shivered but then felt warmth spreading in her chest and up to her cheeks. She laughed while Cana filled up her shot with more tequila. "Really? 40 beer mugs?! That has to be a world record"

"Haha! Not really, just one typical night-out" Cana winked "Okay, now it's yer turn"

Levy hummed and touched her lips with her index finger, thinking on a good story. "One time, a guy dumped me because he said he couldn't go out with a girl who could insult him in at least seven different languages. He said that it would be embarrassing whenever I spoke with a foreigner and he wouldn't know whether I was making fun of him or just indicating where the bathroom was"

Cana laughed again. "No way! Yeah, men are fucking scumbags but 7 languages? Yer what? 19? Ain't possible for ya to know 7 languages already. I say false"

Levy grinned "Actually, I'm 22, but thanks. And I happened to be fluent in more than seven languages and my story is totally true! So it's your turn to drink. ¡Salud! (transl. Cheers!)" Levy said and gestured to Cana to down her tequila shot.

The brunette laughed "Man, 7 languages, really? ¡Y hablas español! (transl. And you speak Spanish!)"

Levy giggled "Así es mi amiga (transl. That's right my friend). I'm still learning though"

"Ha! I definitely need to introduce ya to my friends. I have a hunch they'll love ya! Especially Lucy" Cana said and raised her shot "For ya, Levy McGarden. The woman that can tell a man in seven different languages to fuck off" Cana downed her drink with expertise and Levy laughed at the praise.

"I mean it, eh! If ya have no plans, we're going to a nightclub and then to the beach. Wanna tag along?" Cana filled up her glass with more tequila.

"Sure! Why not? Besides, my friends just ditched me to stay in our room watching TV"

"Ha! Too bad for them. They'll miss all the fun. Cheers for an amazing night!" Cana raised her glass again and it clinked against Levy's. The girls downed their shots and with one last bite of her lime, Levy took her purse and looked at Cana.

"Hey Cana, how much is it going to be for the drinks?"

"How would I know? I don't work here" Cana shrugged her shoulders and put away their shot glasses and the tequila bottle.

"Wait! What?!" Levy shrieked.

"Alberona! Get the fuck away from my booze!" a man shouted from the far end of the counter. The bar had been so crowded that none of the bartenders seemed to have notice Cana on their side of the counter, filling up tequila shots and handing them to Levy, free-of-charge.

"Shit! Make a run for it!" Cana jumped over the counter and grabbed Levy's hand.

"What?!" Levy repeated in a high pitch tone and scrambled out of her stool to rush to the front door with Cana. "Wait a sec" she told the brunette and then leaned on the outside wall of the hotel to take off her shoes. There was no way they would escape with her running in her 5-inch heels.

They resumed their run until they were a couple blocks away from the hotel. Levy sat down on a bench to recover her breath and Cana started to laugh loudly "That was fun! Ha!"

"That wasn't funny! I thought you worked there!" Levy frowned angrily at the brunette

"I never said I did" She laughed again and Levy couldn't hold on to her anger and started giggling as well. "Come on, Lev. I'm meeting with my friends in the next corner"

Levy hesitated for a second. She didn't knew this girl that well to follow her blindly. As far as she knew, Cana could be a mass murderer that was taking her to an alleyway where she'll stab her to dead. Maybe Levy had been watching too many 'Criminal Minds' episodes as of recently. Besides, the alternative to follow Cana was just too depressing. Returning to her room when it wasn't even midnight didn't sound like fun at all.

With a deep breath, Levy decided to trust Cana and followed her. What could go wrong?

"Guys! Let me introduce ya to Levy. Levy, these are my friends. They aren't as crazy as they look like, but I wouldn't get too close to Natsu if you want yer dress to keep from catching on fire" That's how Cana introduced Levy to the peculiar group of six people.

After the awkwardness of being greeted with kisses on her right cheek by complete strangers subsided, Levy started to chat with one of the girls of the group, finding a lot in common with her. She introduced herself as Lucy, a college student who wanted to publish her own novel, and soon enough the two girls started to talk non-stop about books and Levy's fascination with reading.

The rest of the group was very interesting indeed and soon Levy found herself comfortable walking with all of them towards a nightclub at the end of the street. At the front of the group, Juvia, a fashion design student, clung with both her arms to Gray, a professional hockey player. Lucy explained that she met both of them three days prior and that they- well, Gray actually, flew to Cancun for his two-week vacations and Juvia just followed him.

Behind them, Natsu, a backpacker who just travelled all the way up from South America, yelled something at Gray about him being an 'ice princess' and taunting him into a fight. Lucy told Levy that Natsu was something akin to a pyromaniac and that in the four days that she had hang out with him, he had managed to set half of Lucy's skirts on fire.

At the rear of the group, Cana was chatting up with Lily, a pilot who just recently graduated from flight school. Even with his big body, Lily seemed to be quite a nice person, sending off a warmth aura around him. Not at all like the last guy that completed the group.

His name is Gajeel. Well, that's what Lily had called him when he scolded him for glaring at Levy when Cana introduced her to the group. The first thing Levy noticed was his toned body and when he crossed his arms over his chest, Levy started to wonder if his black shirt was about to tear apart from the strain his big muscles put on the fabric. Then, she noticed his piercings and she couldn't stop herself when she started to count them in her mind: three above each of his eyes where his eyebrows were supposed to be, two on each side of his nose, two below his lower lip, five on each ear and four studs on each forearm. The third thing about this man that caught Levy's attention were his eyes. Red ruby orbs seemed to pierce into her soul when she crossed her gaze with his. When she realized she had been staring at him for longer than meant to, Levy forced her gaze away from him, blushing from embarrassment at her obviously ogling the man. It didn't go unnoticed by Gajeel who snickered and said "Like what ya see, shortstuff?" That caused her face to flush even more from embarrassment but she managed to make it look like it was out of anger at the nickname.

Gajeel was walking beside Lily, seemingly not interested at all in the conversation between him and Cana, and Levy couldn't help to look over her shoulder directing her eyes to him. There was something incredibly fascinating about this man. Out of everyone from the group, Levy knew the least about him and it just helped to peek up her curiosity. Cana told her that both Lily and Gajeel were also Mexicans and that's as far as she knew about Gajeel. She wondered about him more and more, why does he have so many piercings? What does he like to do? What are his dreams? Levy's mind started to race with lots and lots of questions about the mysterious man that she craved to know more and more. Especially because when she had crossed her eyes with his, her heart started to beat faster in her chest and her stomach did a funny flip that almost got her giggling like a high school girl. Almost. Levy would burn all her books and eat the ashes before she was caught giggling and fawning like a high schooler over some guy. Even when that guy looked like he had been chiseled by gods. Even when his smirk was so goddamn sexy that-

"A picture lasts longer" he said in his gruff voice. Shit! She had been caught staring at him, again. She turned her gaze to the front of the group and tried to ignore the booming laugh he let out at her expense. It hadn't even been more than 15 minutes since she had met the guy and he somehow had managed to embarrass her twice.

His laughing subsided with a loud slap to the back of his head, courtesy of Lily. "Hey! What was that for, Lil'?"

"Come on, Gajeel, play nice" Lily chided.

"Try to flirt like a normal person fer once, Stud Face" Cana commented.

"O-Oi! I ain't flirting!" he exclaimed and Levy could swear she heard his embarrassment in his voice.

She didn't dare to look back, unless she risked to be caught once again staring at him. Instead, Levy looked at Lucy who was on her right and she saw the blonde looking back and smirking. Then, she turned back to Levy and whispered in her ear "He's blushing." Levy giggled and finally took a quick glance at the black haired man that was truthfully blushing while glaring at both Lily and Cana.

Levy had to admit that Gajeel looked cute when flustered. So long, this night seemed to be getting even better.

"So Levy, had ya ever dance bachata before?" Cana asked but Levy barely managed to hear her from all the noise inside the nightclub.

They managed to get inside and secure a table for themselves, which was now full of empty glasses and mugs, mostly thanks to Cana. When the DJ started to play a random bachata song, Juvia convinced/dragged Gray to dance with her on the dance floor. Natsu somehow saw that as a challenge and grabbed Lucy walking quickly to where the other two were. Now, Cana, Lily, Gajeel and Levy were the only ones sitting at the table.

Levy couldn't help but stare at the dance floor, watching all the people dancing. It was a smooth dance, sexy, fiery and so alluring to the eyes of the blue haired girl. It was as if the couples were flirting with their bodies; eyes locked between both of them, girls swaying their hips sexily, guys holding the girls so close to their bodies that they even looked like puzzle pieces fitting together and moving around like one. She couldn't suppress the sudden desire to dance like that, to have someone holding her like she was the sexiest woman in the world, to have someone looking at her like she was the only thing that matter at that moment.

Levy snapped her head back to Cana when she felt her place her hand over her shoulder. "Geez! Stop drooling all over the table. If ya want to dance so bad, go for it" she said louder and closer to Levy's ear so she could hear her.

Levy blushed and laughed sheepishly "Even if I wanted, I can't. I don't know how to dance like that" she pointed to a guy that twirled the girl around and when she was about to get out of his reach, he moved to catch her hand and pulled her back to him.

"Ha! That ain't a problem! Ya see, Lily here is the best teacher ever and Gajeel is quite a good dancer himself when he's not brooding" Cana pointed out to each of them.

"I heard ya, Drunkard!" Gajeel yelled at her over the loud music.

"That was the point, Stud Face! Ha!" Cana turned back to Lily then "Hey Lil', could ya teach Levy the basics of bachata?"

"Sure!" Lily stood up and extended his hand to Levy, which she took eagerly. She was so excited to learn this type of dance. They didn't walk all the way up to the dance floor since it would be easier for Levy to learn in a less crowded space. So, they just took a couple steps away from their table and prepared for dancing.

"Okay, you just follow my lead, alright?" Lily held Levy's right hand in his left and placed his right hand on the small of her back. Levy placed her left hand on Lily's bicep and nodded at him.

Looking down at their feet, Levy tried to follow each of Lily's movements. She took two steps for each sway they did, trying to copy what Lily was doing with his own feet. It didn't matter if it was right, left, back or front; two steps needed to be taken and the direction of the sway was decided by Lily. Still, sometimes she tried to guess where the next sway was directed to and ended up stepping on Lily's foot once or twice... or thrice.

Gajeel laughed loudly whenever Lily would reach down to rub at his almost-impaled foot. Levy felt embarrassed each time and apologized profusely to Lily.

After several attempts on dancing, Levy gave up before she would break any of Lily's toes with her heels. They walked back to the table and sat down with Cana and Gajeel.

Cana patted Levy on her back sympathetically "Don't worry, Lev. No one nails it in the first try" Levy just groaned in annoyance at her clumsiness.

"Hey! I know! Why don't ya try dancing with Gajeel?" Cana suggested and an evil plan started to formulate in her mind.

"Huh? And why him?" Levy asked confusedly.

"Well, he taught Juvia how to dance and as you can see she became quite good at it" Cana pointed to Juvia who was dancing like a professional with Gray. Levy's jaw hung loose in astonishment "Ha! Who could guess that just last night she learned how to do that?"

"What?! She's that good after just one night?!" Levy turned to look at Cana to see if she was bluffing.

"That's right! I tell ya, if anyone can teach you how to dance bachata is Gajeel" Cana said proudly and then turned to shout at Gajeel "Oi, Stud Face! How about ya try to teach Levy how to dance, eh?"

"Eh?! And why the hell would I do that?"

"Well, Levy over here thinks that there's no way ya can be a better dancer or teacher than Lily. I told her ya are and we bet that if ya two can dance one song without her stepping on your foot, she'll pay for the next round of drinks. If ya fail, I'll pay for it. What da ya say?" Levy wailed her hands in front of Cana's face asking her to stop. The brunette gave a quick glance at Gajeel's angry expression and then leaned down to whisper in Levy's ear "Don't worry. He heard nothing about the bet. The idiot always hates when we tell him Lily can best him at anything. Men are so predictable, ha!" she winked.

"So Studds, are ya in or what?" Cana asked Gajeel.

"There's no way in hell Lily can be better than me!" Gajeel roared and stood up angrily "Come on, Shrimp! Time for ya to learn how to dance!" he hauled Levy by her hand up to the dance floor.

"¿Qué estás tramando ahora, Cana? (transl. Cana, what are you scheming up now?)" Lily asked when he scooted closer to the brunette to have a better sight of the two new dancers approaching the dance floor.

"Nada, pero te apuesto una ronda de shots que se besan antes de volver a la mesa (transl. Nothing, but I bet ya the next round of shots that they'll kiss before coming back to the table)" The brunette said and extended her hand to Lily.

"Doblo tu apuesta a que se besan hasta el final de la noche (transl. I double your bet that they'll kiss by the end of the night)" Lily grabbed Cana's hand to seal their deal. Their eyes returned to the two persons involved in their bet.

"Gajeel! Wait a sec, I'm gonna fall!" Levy yelled at him but she was ignored by the big man who kept dragging her to the middle of the dance floor. He stopped when he found an empty space in the dance floor and turned around to hold her the way Lily had held her previously. Though, this time Levy blushed at being held so intimately by Gajeel.

"First rule, Shorty: Don't look at yer feet or ye'll end up tripping. Second: feel the music. Third: follow my lead. Fourth: have fun" Gajeel stated and held her closer to his body. Her torso was just mere inches from his well-toned abdomen and Levy had to use every ounce of will for her hands not to roam all over his body feeling each and every one of his muscles. God, why did he have to be so damn sexy!?

Levy squealed slightly when she felt him placing his leg between hers. It definitely was a very intimate position and Levy couldn't stop the blush that spread through her face. "Relax, this way it's easier for ya to follow my movements" Gajeel said in a somehow calm voice. The tension left Levy's shoulders and she took a deep breath to calm her heart's pounding in her chest.

"Ready?" he asked to which Levy nodded and she placed her hand over his broad shoulder while he held her other hand in his. (A/N You may want to play the song "Propuesta indecente" by Romeo Santos on youtube or something. It makes this part even more sexier)

They started to move at the music's rhythm and Levy found herself doing her best not to look down to her feet. Instead she looked directly to Gajeel's face and soon she was entranced by those ruby eyes that had caught her attention since the first moment she saw them. In her dazed state, she didn't notice when they started to sway from left to right, turning around in perfect synchronization with the music.

She didn't notice either when she started to move her hips to the song's rhythm, in the same motion as Gajeel moved his shoulders. She recognized the song to which they were dancing. It was a popular bachata song and she found it to be a quite enjoyable tune to listen. When she focused in Gajeel's face again she noticed he was having fun. His previous annoyed expression was missing in his face; instead, his features looked relaxed. Levy assumed Gajeel really enjoyed dancing and something inside her fluttered at knowing just a little bit more about him. When the chorus of the song started, Gajeel sang along with it.

Si te invito una copa y me acerco a tu boca Si te robo un besito haz ver que no vas conmigo

Qué dirías si esta noche te seduzco en mi coche Que se empañen los vidrios Y la regla es que goces

Gajeel pushed Levy at arm's length, holding both her hands. Then, while still holding her hands, he pulled one of his hands over his head and placed their linked hands on his shoulder opposite to her position, and his other hand came down to her lower back. Now, they were dancing side by side, still holding hands and swaying left to right without breaking eye contact. He kept singing the chorus and Levy was entranced by his deep and sweet voice.

Si te falto el respeto y luego culpo al alcohol Si levanto tu falda me darías el derecho A medir tu sensatez Poner en juego tu cuerpo Si te parece prudente esta propuesta indecente

He let go of her hand that was over his shoulder and Levy pulled it back sliding it over the back of his neck and over his other shoulder, leaving a tingling sensation in Gajeel's skin where her hand had just been. Then, he used his hand that was on her lower back to twist her around pulling her back to him with a little more force than intended to. She placed her free hand over his chest to steady herself and then they continued dancing to the sound of the music.

They didn't notice that more and more people were looking at them and creating more space for them to dance on the dance floor.

"Yer not bad at this, Shorty" Gajeel started a conversation to distract his mind from the tingling sensation every one of her touches left in his body. God! She felt so good in his arms and every curve of her body seemed to fit perfectly in every dip of his. But the most marvelous thing about this girl were her eyes. Two hazel pools seemed to absorb all the light surrounding them, leaving Gajeel completely blind and befuddled with just a quick glance into them. He began to feel like he was falling for her very quickly, but that was just messed up, wasn't it? He just met her and barely knew anything about her. But something deep inside him was telling him not to let go of her.

"You're not a bad teacher either" Levy complimented. She was so dazzled by the way this man treated her that she just gave up in trying to control the way her heart fluttered when he touched her. The gentleness with which he held her had captured her heart and she soon realized she was falling for him, and falling hard. This was all so new for her; sure, Levy had been attracted to other guys in the past, but not with the intensity she felt towards Gajeel. She couldn't help but crave for more of his touches and she started to wonder whether his lips would be soft if she dared to kiss him.

The music switched to a more smoother tone within the same song and now both Gajeel and Levy started to sing.

How about you and I

Me and you

Bailamos bachata

He pushed her away at arm's length again and pulled one of his arms over her, twirling her in a half-turn and pulling her closer to him again.

Y luego

You and I

Me and you

Terminamos en la cama… Que rico…

Gajeel had his arms on Levy's waist, holding her hands in his. Her arms were crossed over her abdomen and her back was pressed against Gajeel's broad chest. He placed his head over her left shoulder and she kept her gaze fixed on his face. They kept singing while dancing from left to right, swaying their hips in perfect synchrony.

How about you and I,

Me and you

Bailamos bachata

Ayy bailamos bachata…

More and more couples in the dance floor stopped their dancing to look at them. It wasn't that they were dancing spectacularly, but the attraction that could be felt in the atmosphere surrounding them was just so entrancing that their spectators couldn't help but stare at them.

Y luego

You and I

Me and you

Terminamos en la cama… Terminamos en la cama...

Gajeel brought his nose and mouth closer to Levy's exposed shoulder, hovering just inches over her white skin. Her smell was amazing and he took his time to engrave it into his memory. He closed his eyes enjoying her scent and letting himself be surrounded by it.

At the same time, Levy felt a shiver travelled all the way down through her body when Gajeel's hot breath brushed against her skin. She closed her eyes as well, letting herself get lost in the pleasure this man was giving her with just the minimum touch. She instinctively arched her head to the other side to let Gajeel's breath wash over every inch of skin on Levy's neck. She craved more, oh she craved for so much more and the fact that she could still be standing and dancing when she felt so weak on her knees was beyond Levy's comprehension.

The pace of the music started to pick up and so did their movements.

How about it you and I… You and I….

Me and you… Me and you…

You and I… You and I…

Me and you… You…

You and I… You and I…

Me and you

Me and you… Youuu…

With one last sway to the right, Gajeel pulled Levy's hands over her head and turned her around to face him. Without letting go of her hands, he pulled her closer to him and placed her hands behind his head, releasing them slowly to the music's rhythm. She picked up from there and while locking her eyes to his, she slided her hands from the back of his neck down to his shoulders and then to his chest. The movement was slow and sexy and Gajeel used all his willpower not to moan at her caresses. Still, he couldn't help how the hairs in his arms bristled by the excitement this woman was causing in him and he forced himself to place his hands on her waist, even when he wanted to touch her in other places that wouldn't seem appropriate in public.

The music started to subside with the end of the song and Gajeel took hold of Levy's hands one last time and twirled her around. At the last note of the music, he leaned to his side, holding Levy's back with one hand and her right hand with his left one. Levy followed the movement and leaned back letting Gajeel hold her weight with the hand he had on her back. With this position, their faces came closer and closer that his breath was ghosting over hers. If she pushed up the slightest, their lips would meet in the such anticipated kiss. Both of them had their eyes half-lidded and seemed to be in a trance where nothing else existed but them.

They were brought out of their stupor by a loud cheer and catcalls from the people around them. Gajeel and Levy jumped up at the noise and took one step away from the other, blushing profusely when they realized the position they had been just seconds ago. Their audience kept whistling and clapping at them until Gajeel exploded "OH! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!"

He grabbed Levy's hand and walked hastily back to their table, Levy keept up with the pace of his long strides. Both of them tried very hard to control their thundering hearts. The dance had been simple and smooth, but at the same time, it had been so intimate and passionate for both of them. Levy didn't felt like that at all when she danced with Lily, and Gajeel was sure as hell that he had never felt that way when he had danced with other women in the past. It had been something special, unique, and even when both of them were stubborn, they weren't that stubborn to try to ignore the spark that ignited between them during their dance.

When they returned to the table, Cana was complaining to Lily about something 'not being fair' and that 'they had been this close'. Then she ordered a round of shots for everyone and no one asked anything further.

Levy sat down beside Cana and Gajeel returned to his seat at Lily's right. Both of them tried to look past the embarrassment they felt after their dance, but they found themselves locking their gazes time and time again, which Lily and Cana found to be very amusing.

"Natsu! Be careful! That's my purse!" Lucy shouted at the pink haired guy that was way too excited about the bonfire they just lighted up at the beach.

After they had dance and drink for a couple of hours, the group decided to head out to the beach that was behind Cana's house. Who would have thought that Cana lived in one of the most expensive parts of the city and owned a house with a private beach as the backyard? It was now 4 in the morning and they were seated around the small bonfire, telling jokes and funny stories about everything and anything.

Cana had been nice enough to lend the girls a change of clothes, so now Lucy, Juvia and Levy wore short shorts and plain t-shirts instead of their night dresses, which had been put away in Cana's room along with the girl's shoes. The boys decided to leave their shoes and pants in the house as well, so now Gray, Natsu, Lily and Gajeel were only in their shirts and boxers. They were all sitting comfortable around the bonfire on a couple of beach towels that Cana lent to them.

"Hey Gray! Betcha can't beat me in a race to the water!" Natsu yelled and started to sprint towards the ocean.

"You Flame Brain idiot! As if you could win against me!" Gray also took off quickly, running at high speed after Natsu.

"Gray-sama~! I'll follow you to the end of the world! Nothing will keep us apart my true love!" Juvia exclaimed and took off as well, skipping happily after his loved one.

"Natsu! That's my phone you have in your hand! Give it back you idiot! If you ruin it, you're going to pay for a new one, you hear me?!" Lucy yelled after the pink haired man and ran after him to retrieve her cellphone.

"I'll make sure no one drowns down. That would just ruin our night. Care to join me Cana?" Lily stood up and brushed off the sand from his boxers and extended his hand to Cana.

"Ha! Wouldn't miss the beating Lucy is about to give to Natsu" Cana took Lily's hand and stood up, holding closely one bottle of whiskey. Together, they walked up to the shore calmly, making fun of the four persons that were already knee-deep into the water.

Levy noticed then that she had been left alone with Gajeel, which she didn't minded at all but she soon felt a little awkward since her mind seemed to be blank at trying to find one simple topic for conversation with the man. They were silently watching the embers of the fire and Levy noticed that it wasn't an uncomfortable silence at all. Somehow, she enjoyed the Gajeel's company, even when they didn't have anything to talk about.

"Ya know they did this on purpose right?" Gajeel broke the silence and Levy looked at him questioningly. "Ya don't have to stay here with me if ya don't wanna" he looked away shyly.

"I like your company Gajeel" she replied honestly and he almost got whiplashed from turning his head so fast to look at her.

"R-Really? Well, that's a first…" he scratched the back of his head sheepishly "The only ones that put up with me are Lil' and Drunkard, and I'm pretty sure there must be something wrong with them"

She giggled "That's not true. You seem to get along fine with Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Juvia as well. And even when each of them has their perks, they can't be all crazy, right?" As if on cue, some loud yells were heard from the water and Levy somehow deciphered them.

'Natsu! Give me back my t-shirt! And my bra!'

'Try to catch me, Luce!'

'Gray! Put on your boxers!'

'When did that happened?!'

'Gray-sama~!'

'Haha! Ya owe me a six-pack Lil'. Told ya he'd end up naked before sunrise!'

Levy and Gajeel sweatdropped at their friends' antics. He cleared his throat before continuing with the conversation "Well, I know them just for a couple of days back. Bet they wouldn't stand me for a week"

"I wouldn't mind spending a week with you" Levy paused when she realized she had said that out loud, clear enough for the pierced man to hear her. She blushed intensely and burrowed her face in her hands when Gajeel laughed loudly at her slip of tongue.

"Gihi! Geez, ya don't have to throw yerself at me, Shrimp!" he smirked and laughed again.

"Stupid Gajeel!" she huffed but couldn't stay mad at him for long. His laugh was very unique and it somehow eased down all the embarrassment and anger within Levy.

Gajeel finally calmed down and swiped away an imaginary tear from his eye. "How long have you known Lily and Cana?" she inquired.

"Hmm. I'd known Lil' since I can remember. He had been there for me at every rough time in my life and I couldn't be more grateful for that. About 4 years ago, before he went to flight school and I went to college, we went on a road trip and one of our stops was here, Cancun. That's when we met Drunkard. After that, we have come here once a year to catch up with her" Gajeel smiled at the memory.

"That's nice. It's so good that you have such good friends" she admired the way the light from the bonfire reflected on Gajeel's face and made his piercings shine in the night.

"How about ya? Don't tell me ya came to Cancun all by yerself?"

"Hehe, funny story. I came here with my friends but it ended up being not as I expected it to be" she sighed "That's what happens when you make plans with people you know for barely six months"

"Hey, ya just met all of us tonight and I'm sure ya had fun, right? Ya just got bad luck with yer friends"

Levy smiled at Gajeel "You're right. Thanks" Another comfortable silence passed between both of them.

"And what about yer boyfriend?" Gajeel asked without looking at her

"Huh?"

"Ya know, why didn't ya came here with him?"

"Are you asking me if I have a boyfriend?"

"N-No…J-Just trying to make conversation, that's all" Levy didn't missed the nervousness in his voice but decided to not push it.

"Well, I don't have a boyfriend"

"Good… I-I mean…" he started to sweat from embarrassment. "S-So, would it be okay if I treat ya to lunch? Maybe tomorrow?" he gulped in anticipation at her answer.

Levy stared wide-eyed at him "You're asking me out? Like, out out? Like, out on a date?"

"It doesn't have to be a date if ya don't want to. Besides, yer the one who said ya wouldn't mind spending a week with me" he smirked at her trying to cover up his eagerness to know her answer.

Levy blushed again and cleared her throat before answering him "Sure. I'll love to go out on a date with you" she smiled brightly at him.

"Really?! I-I mean, cool! Then it's set!" he smiled at her as well and soon they looked like two beautiful dorks in love just staring and smiling at each other.

They kept chatting about their lives. She told him about her dream of owning a bookstore and he told her about him wanting to open up his own mechanic workshop. She told him about the day her parents died and he told her how his father raised him all by himself. He told her that one time when he was little he ate a nail, and she confessed to him that the scar on her forehead was caused by a heavy book that landed on her head.

They talked and talked about deep stuff and about everyday shenanigans. Eventually, they laid down on the sand and soon found themselves deep asleep cuddling with each other. The rest of the group made it back from the water after they fell asleep and decided to leave them right there, while they made it back inside Cana's house. Lily snuck out of the house and covered the couple with a blanket before going back inside.

With the first rays of sun hitting her in the face, Levy stirred up from her sleep state and opened up her eyes slowly, just to find herself looking straight into Gajeel's face. He was still asleep and had his arms wrapped around Levy's waist and his legs entangled with hers.

She couldn't hold in the smile that surfaced in her face at remembering everything that happened the night before, everything from their dance to their late-night conversation. With every second that she had spent with this man, Levy found herself falling more in love with him. She gave up on trying to convince herself that his wasn't love and that she was fooling herself for thinking like that, because no one had swept Levy off her feet like Gajeel had in just one night without even trying. If that wasn't love, then Levy had no idea what was it.

She used this moment to appreciate the soft expression in Gajeel's face. He seemed so peaceful at that moment that she couldn't believe this was a man that wore a scowl in his face most of the time. The piercings on his face glinted with the light of the sun and she started to trace each one of them with her index and middle finger.

He stirred in his sleep at her ministrations and soon his eyes blinked slowly, getting rid of the drowsiness. He smiled down at her and locked his gaze with hers. "Morning, Shrimp"

"Morning, Gajeel" she beamed at him and then pushed herself up to a sitting position. He followed her and they stretched their arms and backs getting rid of the stiffness in their muscles.

"Guess the idiots left us out here on our own" Gajeel grunted while folding the blanket.

"Probably" she giggled.

"Come on, Shorty. I'll walk ya to yer hotel. Yer friends are probably wondering where the hell have you been all night" He stood up and held a hand out to her.

"Oh, God! You're totally right! Thanks" she took his hand and stood up as well.

They went inside Cana's house to leave the blanket in the living room and for Levy and Gajeel to grab their clothes before heading out to Levy's hotel. They enjoyed their stroll and kept conversing about anything that came to mind. When they arrived at her hotel, she gave Gajeel her phone number and waved goodbye to him. Before she was out of reach, he pulled her close to him and kissed her on her right cheek.

"That's how we say goodbye here in Mexico" he smirked at her flustered expression but sooner than expected she recovered and she placed one kiss on his cheek as well. Now was Gajeel's turn to blush and she took the opportunity to escape into the building, making her way up to her room.

Before entering the room, she checked her cellphone and indeed found that there were several missed calls and text messages from her friends. She sighed, resigned to be yell at for her recklessness.

She opened the door slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible as to not alert her friends of her arrival, but it was pointless. Once she entered the room, she noticed her three friends standing in the middle of it with angry expressions.

"Hey, girls" she waved at them but it just helped to increase their fury.

"Where were you, Levy!?"

"We were worry sick about you, you know!"

"Why didn't you pick up your cellphone!?"

Levy sat down on the edge of her bed with her friends around her scolding her for going out last night alone and returning home until the early morning. Levy apologized to them and tried to look remorseful about her decision, but deep inside Levy was smiling widely. It had been the best night of her life and if she could, she would do it again.

At that moment, her phone buzzed and she looked at it to see who had send her a message. Her smile appeared on her face when she read it.

Hey :) It's Gajeel

Well, maybe she could repeat what happened last night. She had a whole week ahead of her and she had a date with a sexy, pierced, red-eye, black haired man who couldn't wait even an hour to text her. It would be cruel to make him wait for a reply.

Hi ;)

Oh, yes. Last night couldn't have gone any better and this vacations were just getting started.

AUTHOR NOTES

That's it! I swear that this took me longer that expected but I managed to upload it in time to participate in the warm-up for Gajevy week. Sorry there is no kissing scene (I wanted to write that down but this was going to end up being a 10k fic if I did that; maybe when I find the time I'll come back here and add that scene)

I really loved the brotp between Cana and Levy (Cana is just too fun to write!) And the dance scene between Levy and Gajeel got me so worked up! O/O I know it's silly but I'm Mexican and for us is like a huge turn on to feel that spark when you're dancing sexy latin music with a sexy boy.

I feel like I slacked a little bit at the end of the story, but it was past 2 in the morning and I had work the next day. Sorry for that hehe.

Thanks for reading and I'll appreciate any review you want to leave me!

WTF (Where'sTheFood)

#gajevyweek17 #levy mcgarden #gajeel redfox #au #mexican!Gajeel #bachata #gajevyweek #where's the food fanfiction

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tankcupcakes · 8 years ago

Text

Thunder Road - Part Four

Summary: Takes place directly at the end of 5x13, The Song Remains the Same – in which Team Free Will is stuck in 1978.

Characters: This is a third person story that will follow Dean, though there is plenty of Sam as well, Castiel, OFC Warnings: Language and marijuana use for the whole story Word Count: 4,200 A/N: I took some creative liberties with time travel here, so just roll with me. This is also chock-full of references to music in the 60’s and 70’s – there will be a companion Spotify playlist when the story is complete. No beta, but was brainstormed with and read over by my dear @chelsea072498 I don’t own any of the gifs I will be using and I don’t know where they originated, by would be happy to credit if anyone knows who made them.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Five

Master List

September, 1978 Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Dean and Eve were inseparable. It was a camaraderie like Dean hadn't ever experienced before, it was like finding his other half.

Maybe it was her sense of humor, or the almost lazy way she spoke, or how she just seemed to know what he was thinking. Maybe it was her quick wit and smart mouth. Maybe it was all or none of these things, but he found such a feeling of peace just being around her.

He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, he thought about it all the time. It was irresponsible - and deep down, he knew that was a big part of why he was doing it. He was tired of responsibilities - he had never been without them. Until now.

Still, Dean longed to tell Eve the truth. Keeping this secret was lying by omission, and while that was a fine charade with women he didn't really know, he knew this woman intimately - and lying to her made him feel sick. There was a constant struggle within him whenever he thought about telling the truth too. He wanted to believe she would accept it, but the better half of him knew that she would think he was insane, or she would be pissed that he had lied, or both. Sam seemed happy for him - but, he was like a dark cloud over a picnic, always looking at them with apprehension. It made Dean feel worse about the whole thing. It was a Saturday, and both he and Eve were off work all day. They had spent it lounging around and eating takeout, laughing in their pajamas. The motel room was dark, the only light coming from the glowing ember on the joint they were smoking. The sun had gone down and they were laying in bed together, her legs tangled with his, blankets cocooned around them. The record player in the corner, a gift from Roger, was spinning Eric Clapton's Slowhand album around the otherwise quiet room. "I've got to tell you," she said quietly, "these are some of my favorite moments. I can pretend that nothing else exists." He smiled and nodded, even though she couldn't see it, tilting his head to press a kiss to her temple. The door to the motel room swung open, both of them jumping as they looked over. Sam walked through the door and hadn't noticed them yet, as he reached over and flipped the light on. "Oh, shit - I'm sorry, guys," he stuttered out, his face red. "Are you - should I -" "Relax, Sam," Dean replied, shaking his head. "I thought you weren't going to be back for a few more hours." "Yeah, someone needed the extra hours so I volunteered to leave... " He still looked uncomfortable as he took a seat at the table. "We were talking about going to play pool and get a drink, you should come with us," Dean suggested, looking down at Eve, who nodded. "Ah, I don't know... " "Here, take this, maybe you'll change your mind," Dean said with a chuckle, climbing out of the bed and reaching his arm out to hand Sam the joint. Sam looked quizzically at the spliff and then back at Dean. "You're serious?" "What, does it look like I'm joking? You need to unwind, Sammy." Sam still stared at him and he sighed. "Look, take it or don't take it - this isn't some after school special, I'm not going to peer pressure you." "Fine, give it to me," Sam finally said, taking the joint. "There you go," he replied with a smirk. Thirty minutes and several coughing fits later, Sam lay giggling across the foot of Dean's bed while he and Eve sat up against the headboard. "You know, I haven't smoked pot since college," he said, his laughter subsiding. "Before we came here, it had been forever for me too," Dean said, grinning at his brother's current state. "Feels good, don't it?" More chuckling was his response and after a few more minutes, they decided to get dressed to go out. The bar they ended up in was a honky tonk - this was the Midwest, after all. He had actually been to this one with Jeff once before. Hank William's Move it on Over was playing merrily from the jukebox and several of the locals looked over to see who was coming in. "Hey - Dean!" Speak of the devil - Jeff had been sitting at the bar and was on his way over. "Hey, Jeff - should've known you'd be here," Dean said, slapping him on the back. "It is a Saturday," he replied, turning his attention from Dean to Eve. "Let's see, you must be the lovely lady who's charmed my pal over here." Goddamnit, Jeff. Not like this was a secret - Eve cast a knowing smirk over at Dean, who shrugged. "I think I might be," she said, shaking his hand. "I'm Eve, nice to meet you." "Jeff - the pleasure's mine, honey. He talks about you all the time -" "Alright, Jeff, that's enough," Dean interjected quickly, a firm hand on his shoulder as he turned him toward Sam instead. "I don't think you've ever met my brother - Sam, this is my buddy from work, Jeff. This is Sam." The two of them shook hands as well and Eve made her way up to the bar to get their first round. "Jeff, could you be cool, please?" Dean asked in a low voice. He laughed and slapped Dean on the back hard, causing him to groan. "I could, I guess," Jeff said, shrugging. "But where's the fun in that?" Perfect. Dean snorted and shook his head. "Fine, but if you don't ever see her again, there's no wondering why." Sam was snickering quietly at this exchange as they grabbed a spot to sit near the pool tables. Eve came back with beer for the group and they began a game of two on two, Dean and Jeff annihilating Sam and Eve, because she was terrible at pool. After the third game, Jeff had left and her face was all scrunched up with irritation from her losses. "Lord, someone take this fucking stick from me before I break it," she said after a frustrated groan. Dean grinned at her and held his hand out for the cue, which she handed to him. "Wanna play darts instead?" he asked, knowing that she was pretty good - and winning a little would make her feel better. "Yes, thank you," she replied with a laugh. "I'll grab some from the bartender." As he watched her walk away, Dean saw Sam shaking his head and muttering to himself from the corner of his eye. He had had a few drinks, and wasn't in the mood for Sam's attitude. "What's the problem - you don't like her? Coz there isn't a thing about her not to like." "That is the problem, Dean - I do like her," he said, suddenly serious. "I would feel a lot better about this if I didn't like her." "Sam -" "I mean, you do know that this could be over at any time, right?" Dean cocked his head, clenching his jaw a little. "Thanks, Sam, that thought hadn't occurred to me. I definitely don't think about that every night before I fall asleep." Sam sighed. "I know you like her a lot, and I'm glad you're adjusting here, but Dean - this isn't real." "It isn't real?" Dean repeated incredulously, immediately irritated by the statement. "What is it then?" "You know what I mean -" "Don't tell me this isn't real, Sam - we have been waking up every day for the past eight months and living this life. If that isn't real, what is?" "Fine, it's real - have you thought about how she's going to feel when you just up and leave?" "Of course I've thought about it, what did I just say?" Dean snapped at him before heaving a sigh. "Damnit, I didn't mean for this to happen, Sam." "I know," he replied quietly. "But it did happen - and it will end, Dean. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but Cas is coming back for us." The two of them stared at each other for a minute, Dean knowing that Sam was right, just not wanting to accept it. Sam drained his beer, moving to get another from the bar, stopping briefly to add softly, "We don't belong here, Dean." When he came back, it was like the conversation had never happened - Sam was grinning like an idiot again, laughing and talking loudly as he attempted to play darts. After a couple more drinks, this was not going well for him. "Alright, Eve - ten bucks says that I can beat you this time," he said, his words beginning to slur. "Oh, bless your heart, Sam... " she replied, patting his cheek with one hand, before turning around and hitting the bulls-eye. Dean laughed at the disappointed look on Sam's face, shrugging when he glanced over at him. "I think I might've had a little too much to drink," Sam considered slowly, a thoughtful look on his face. "What was your first clue?" Dean asked, feeling the effects of the alcohol himself. "Hey, if you guys are ready to call it a night, my place is right around the corner,” Eve offered. “Do ya'll just wanna crash over there?" Dean looked at his watch - it was nearing one in the morning. "What d'you think, Sammy? Done drinking?" "I wanna eat," Sam said, standing suddenly, nearly toppling his stool over. "I'm starving." "Well, I've got plenty of snacks -" "Say no more," he replied, already on his way out the door. Eve gave Dean an amused look and he laughed loudly. "You heard the man, I guess we're going." The three of them, stumbling and giggling, made their way back to Eve's apartment, Sam tripping on his way up the stairs. Once they got inside, he collapsed on her large chair with a long sigh. "Dean, you were right - I did need to relax." "I'm always right," he mumbled back, kneeling on the ground as he began pulling his brother's shoes off. "Stop, stop it," Sam muttered, kicking his feet. "You stop it, I'm trying to help." Eve was chuckling at their interaction as she came back from the kitchen, tossing a bag of chips and a bag of pretzels at Sam, who groaned appreciatively and tore the chips open. Dean stood, sharing another amused look with her, before moving across the room to put The Dark Side of the Moon on the record player. She also had a collection of lava lamps that he loved - he wasn't sure what it was about them, but watching them melt and ooze was so relaxing. He switched all of them on and turned the overhead light off. "I like this album," Sam murmured, crunching loudly. "Me too," Eve said from her new position, sprawled on the couch. Dean nudged her legs over and took the spot next to her, pulling them back over his lap, resting one hand on her thigh. "It's a good one," he said, leaning his head back to rest on the cushions. "You know, they were here in concert last year and I couldn't go - I was wrecked," Eve said, crossing her arms behind her head. "I want nothing more in my life than to hear Wish You Were Here live." "That's the only thing you want out of life?" Dean asked with a chuckle, closing his eyes. "Alright, fine, I want a lot of things - but that's one of them." The three of them were silent for a moment, until Sam suddenly began to sing loudly and off-key, "Soooo... so you think you can teeeeell... " Eyes still closed, Dean grinned, chiming in, "Heaven from hellllll... " "Blue skies from paaain," Sam continued, his voice cracking followed by drunken laughter. Opening his eyes, Dean cocked his head a little to look at Sam. "Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?" "A smile from a veil... " Sam pointed at him from his spot on the chair, in full performance mode. "Do you think you can tell?" Eve was giggling as she began to sing softly. "And did they get you to traaaade your heroes for ghosts?" Dean took a deep breath as he and Sam belted together, "Hot ashes for trees, hot air for a cool breeze?" The laughter continued as they sang the entire song together, and talked about nothing for another hour or so. A soft snoring signaled that Sam had fallen asleep, and Eve tilted her head to glance at him before looking back over at Dean. "He's fun," she whispered. "I hope he had a good time tonight - he always seems so bummed out." "He doesn't belong here," Dean murmured back, half asleep in a drunken haze. "Do you like it here?" she asked, searching his eyes. "I love it here," he replied, squeezing her knee. "It's everything that I never got to have." She smiled up at him, eyes sliding in and out of focus as the lids fluttered shut. "I'm glad you're happy." "Yeah," he whispered, the pit in his stomach tightening as he thought of his previous conversation with Sam. "Yeah, me too."

November, 1978 Cedar Rapids, Iowa The weather had turned colder, all of the leaves on the trees were brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. In October, Eve's apartment lease was up and she decided to pay month to month until she found something different, slowly boxing up all of her belongings. Her place was fine, but it was pretty cramped and parking was a bitch. The week before Thanksgiving, she had told Dean she found a nice house she was considering renting. Roger's father was in real estate and had bought some foreclosed homes to flip and rent out. The next day after work, he went with her to check it out. It was pretty big for one person, an old Victorian house, and if he had to guess just by looking at it, it had been built easily 100 years ago. It would certainly be a big upgrade on space. As they stepped out of the car, Dean felt uneasy as he looked it over. It was a gorgeous house, for sure, but it looked like it had been unoccupied for a long time. He couldn't help but wonder why.

"I've always thought it was beautiful," Eve said as they climbed the stairs to the porch. "I go out of my way to drive by it sometimes." She unlocked the door using the keys Roger had given her at work, and they stepped inside, the door creaking as it opened. It smelled of sawdust and leather, most of the furniture still in place, drop cloths draped over everything. "It's nice, right?" she asked, looking over at him. "Yeah," Dean said, nodding as he ignored his paranoia. "Yeah, it's sturdy too." "And I guess you would know, wouldn't you?" she asked with a wink, disappearing into the kitchen. He chuckled and shook his head, wandering over to the living room. A large stone fireplace was at the back of the room, near the staircase. "I'm wondering why it's such a steal," he called back to her. "What's wrong with it?" Her laugh echoed through the hall and she came through the doorway with a shrug. "I have no idea. It seems to be in great shape, honestly. That's why I asked you to check it out." "When was the last time someone lived here?" he asked, running his hand along the stair rail, bringing up about an inch of dust on his fingers. "I think it's safe to say it's been a while," she replied. "Empty for as long as I've been here, anyway." She looked around, her expression a little disappointed. "You don't like it, do you?" "Oh, no - listen," he said, stepping over to her. "I think it's beautiful - just needs a little elbow grease." She smiled again. "Luckily, I think I know at least one strapping gentleman who might be willing to help me with that." "You know what," Dean said, feigning a face of deep thought as he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him. "I think you're right." He grinned and leaned down to press a long kiss to her lips. = Three days later, Dean was helping her move in. She didn't have a lot of stuff and lived relatively close to the new place, but it was still a draining day. He walked into the kitchen where she was putting her spices and pantry items in the cabinets, The Beatles’ album, Let It Be playing loudly from the living room. "Your bed is officially assembled and ready to sleep in," he said, leaning his back on the counter. "You are the best," she replied, reaching into the refrigerator and handing him a beer - one of the only things in there. She opened one for herself, took a long pull, and let out a content sigh. "You know, I saw The Beatles when I was a teenager? 1966.”

“Did you?” Dean asked, a smile creeping onto his face, picturing her there.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 15, we had just moved here and Kate was a few months old. Ken told us to go and have fun, so Mama and I drove over to St. Louis.” She shook her head with a laugh, an almost dreamy look on her face. “It was so loud - you couldn't hear much over all the girls screaming.”

Dean chuckled. “But not you?”

“Well, of course I was too - we’re talking about Paul McCartney here, Dean.”

He laughed loudly and tilted his head fondly at her. “I bet that was an awesome experience.”

“It was incredible. I could feel the bass in my chest - that was the only way I could identify some of the songs. Just all this electricity, buzzing around you.” She sighed and shook her head again, brandishing her beer. “What do you say we finish these and go to bed?”

"You read my mind," he replied, winking at her. And they did just that, Dean falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. It was hours later when he heard his name being whispered. "Dean?" He was in the veil of sleep, not quite sure if Eve's voice was in his dream or not. "Dean." This was a little bit louder, but still hushed. She sounded afraid. A loud rattling sound began and he sat up straight in bed, glancing at Eve who was already sitting. Dean looked in the direction of the sound and saw the side table in the corner of the room was shaking and bouncing up and down, the books that had been sitting on it were in the air, floating in circles. The room was suddenly so cold that their breath hung around them in the air. "You see this too, right?" she asked, her voice barely audible, staring in the corner of the room, slowly taking hold of one of his hands with both of hers. "Yes," he breathed back. He had almost forgotten what it was like. He used his free hand to stroke the back of her hair, speaking as calmly as he could. "Alright sweetheart, here's what we're gonna do - we're gonna move as quickly and quietly as possible and get to the front door, okay?" "Okay," she repeated, not looking at him, still transfixed on the books in the air. The table suddenly stopped its rattling and shaking, the books slamming to the ground with deafening bang. Everything in the room was still again. "Now," he said and she moved immediately, her hands lingering on his for only a moment as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. He did as well, grabbing her hand again as they walked swiftly from the bedroom and began down the stairs, the lights above them flickering ominously. At the bottom of the stairs, Dean made a quick sidestep to the fireplace, pulling the poker out of the holder and clutching it close to him. They made their way to the front door, and he let go of her to switch the poker to his dominant hand, his back to the door as Eve went to unlock and turn the knob. "Dean," she said softly, her fingers closing around his wrist, "the door won't open." He met eyes with her before glancing around the room quickly, trying to formulate a plan. He held the fireplace poker like a sword. "Kitchen, on my count, as fast as you can - I need you to find salt." She nodded, her eyes round with fear, but showing no other signs of panic. "What should I do with it?" she whispered. "Pour it on the ground, make a circle and get inside." She was watching him carefully as she listened, not questioning why she was doing this, only trusting what he said. "Ready?" he asked evenly and she nodded again. "I'm right behind you. One, two, go!" There was no hesitation as Eve made a mad dash to the kitchen, Dean on her heels, looking around rapidly for the poltergeist. She clambered onto the counter, reaching high in one of the cabinets for the salt, nearly dropping it as she turned around, the ghost of an old man materializing right in front of her face. A strangled gasp escaped her and Dean swung the fireplace poker like a baseball bat, the ghost disappearing again. "Quick, Evie, quick!" She jumped down from the counter, the spout of the salt container already open as her feet hit the ground, and she dumped the contents all around her. Stepping inside the circle too, Dean gripped her shoulder tightly. There was no time to relax or be relieved, not until they were out of the house. "Now what?" she asked quietly, her eyes flitting all over the kitchen. "I'm going to draw it away and I want you to try to open the back door, okay?" "I won't leave you here." "You won't have to - I'm hoping that if I can distract it long enough for you to get the door open, I'll take a swing and be right behind you." "Okay," she whispered, nodding slowly. "Please be careful." He couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face and he gave her a quick kiss. "Pull on that door as hard as you can." He squeezed her shoulder one more time before taking several strides away from her, out of the circle. "Alright, you son of a bitch, let's dance!" he called, twirling the poker like a baton. After a few moments passed and nothing happened, he added, "What, stage fright? Don't worry, I'll be gentle -" A strong force knocked him roughly forward and he stumbled onto his knees, tightening his grip on his weapon. From the corner of his eye, he saw Eve scramble to the door, a strained groan coming from her as she tried to pry the door open, both hands on the knob and one foot wedged against the wall for leverage. He swung the poker back in a wide arc, and when he turned around he was face to face with the poltergeist. "It's open!" he heard Eve cry and with all of his strength, he brought the poker sailing back up through the ghost's figure, causing it to disperse again. Still a tight hold on the iron, Dean rushed over to the door, snatching his coat from the table, knowing his car keys were inside. Both of them tumbled through the back door, and without speaking, he grabbed her hand as they sprinted around the house and down the long driveway. Once at the street, they stopped next to Dean’s car, both out of breath from running.

They were just standing there, half-dressed with no shoes, and despite his best efforts, Dean cracked a smile as he finally tossed his weapon to the ground, still gasping for air.

Eve stared back at him, eyes wild as she tried to process what had just happened. He felt his stomach twist as he realized what this meant. He wanted to be honest with her. He would have to tell her the truth, tell her he had been lying about who he was and what he had done - and where he came from. He swallowed thickly, grappling with the words to say. "Evie, I-" Before he could get anything else out, she had flung her arms around his neck, kissing him hard, her heart pounding so violently that he could feel it against his own chest. She placed her freezing hands on both sides of his face, and when she pulled back, her eyes were still wide and almost spellbound. "Dean - who are you?"

= @chelsea072498 @frenchybell @impala-dreamer @percywinchester27 @d-s-winchester @notnaturalanahi @deathtonormalcy56

#supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #dean winchester

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