#the aftermath wasn’t too bad though to be fair. i went to bed directly after and the morning was fine

[vee-lociraptor]

extremely messed up that covid can have long term mental side effects they don’t tell you about actually

[suckasstakenames]

Craig and Those Guys Week: Day 5 - Sleepover 💤 🎮

The third and final oneshot I wrote for @craigandthoseguys-week !! Craig POV this time!

Thank you for reading!!

----

Token’s residence has always been the favourite hangout, so it was expected that the votes were unanimous when our group decided where to have our highly anticipated boy’s night. My house usually had adult guests over during the evening, Tweek’s parents don’t leave us alone at his place, Clyde wasn’t a very good host, and Jimmy’s parents had completely banned any of his friends from going over because of the aftermath when they went out of town once. Playing fantasy in fourth grade had it’s consequences.

Mr and Mrs Black even decided to take a spa trip so that we’d purposely have the house to ourselves. Risky, but I guess Token is reliable enough to make sure the house is in pristine condition by the time they get back. Even if the rest of us aren’t.

After the four of us shared a car to get there, we were joyfully greeted by Token at his front door and led up to his room. Only it wasn’t Token at the front, it was Clyde, who excitedly (and pretty rudely) barged right in front of us all. We’re all equipped with sleeping bags and rucksacks, each carrying a different assortment of things. Well...besides the essentials.

We collectively decided that I would be in charge of bringing booze to the occasion. My parents were the only ones who didn’t give a shit if I hoarded a large amount of alcohol, so there was no debating it.

Clyde had brought a TON of junk food. He regularly had a pantry stocked with all kinds of goodies (when he wasn’t scoffing it himself) so he just grabbed whatever he could find and stuffed it in a bag.

Tweek was in charge of DVD’s. Being the anxious wreck that he is, we figured it would be best that he picked the film selection so that he didn’t get too disturbed by anything. I did help him out a little, though.

And lastly, Jimmy took it upon himself to come up with any backup plans, incase we got bored with anything. We had no doubts that he would think of some fun shit to do, or bring something that would entertain us. After all, we’d do anything to avoid going to sleep early.

Token had a good amount of food and entertainment himself, but we thought it was only fair to handle our own, since his parents were being so accommodating to us. Plus, he had every video game console thinkable, and a good game selection at that. We were more than prepared.

~

Walking into Token’s oversized bedroom, Clyde drops his backpack on the ground and launches himself onto the kingsized bed starfish style.

“You know you’re not sleeping there right...?” I remind him.

“Unless you’re s-s-spooning with T-Token.” Jimmy jokes from behind me.

Clyde just nuzzles into the bed even further. “I’m sure he’d be happy to have me.”

“Uhhh like fuck I would...” Token retorts, “Your ass is on the floor.”

Clyde turns onto his side and attempts his sexiest pose (which, believe it or not, wasn’t sexy at all). “Don’t be like that baby~”

“Just get over here and unroll your damn sleeping bag” Token says, throwing the sleeping bag directly at Clyde’s head with perfect aim. The impact sends him flying backwards. I thought Clyde was supposed to be the sporty one out of us? He can’t catch if his life depended on it.

Tweek stands next to me, shaking his head and smirking. It definitely isn’t a first for us to witness antics like this; we’re so used to it, it’s unbelievable. I take his rucksack off him and put in down next to mine.

“Here, I’ll take care of your bed.”

“Ngh! Craig, I’m fine doing it myself, really!”

I ignored him and started to set it up anyway. But the little shit went over and grabbed mine instead. Tweek can be a stubborn fuck sometimes, but it wasn’t all that much of a bad thing.

We’d all laid out our sleeping bags in a line (in front of the television, of course) as the sun was just about to set outside. Mine was on the far left, with Tweek next to me, Clyde next to him and Jimmy on the right. We changed into our pyjamas and nestled into our sleeping bags, Token sitting down right in the middle of us. Damn right were we gonna make this a proper conventional slumber party.

Token switched the TV on and some animal documentary was showing. There was a lioness with some lion cubs and it was telling the story of their survival.

“No way?! You’ve got the Nintendo Switcheroo!” Clyde exclaims out of nowhere, making us all jump out of our skin. He crawls over to the console to investigate. Token looks pissed off as Clyde’s big-ass head was blocking some of the screen, and he seems kind of invested in the lion story.

I sigh. “…you did NOT just call it a fucking Nintendo Switcheroo..."

“Of course he’s got one man! He owns everything!” Tweek jokes.

“Yeah, p-p-pauper.” Jimmy stutters. Token just blows a raspberry in response.

“We need to play Mario Kart. We’re playing Mario Kart. Right now.” Clyde dictates.

I groan and roll my eyes. I thought that game had died many years ago…however…when it WAS a thing, I did kick some serious ass.

Fortunately the game box was staring him right in the face, so he started trying to set it up, taking out the disc and trying to figure out how to switch the console on.

Meanwhile the documentary was getting pretty dramatic, as a group of hyenas were closing in on the mother lion and her kids. She was fighting them off, but then the narrator explains how she left behind one of her babies while doing so. It shows one of the hyenas circling the cub like a shark.

Tweek yells out, turning his head away. “Oh god hurry up Clyde!! It’s gonna eat the cub!!”

“I’m trying!!” Clyde whines, pressing any button BUT the correct one. It was clear he wasn’t a fan of the documentary either by how frantic he was being.

The hyena started closing in on the cub.

“CLYDE!! PLEASE!!” Tweek holds his hands over his ears, trying to completely shut it out. I try and comfort him while looking over at Token as if to say ‘don’t just sit there, help him’. He does exactly that and crawls over, pressing a button on the side with ease. Thankfully, the channel automatically switches over and the game console loads onto the screen. I feel a giant exhalation of relief coming from Tweek, who finally withdraws himself from burying his face in my chest.

~

Eventually the title screen appears with the familiar Mario Kart jingle playing. Jimmy starts to wiggle along to it, which, of course, persuades Clyde to dance too. Tweek and I decided we’d share the controller and take it in turns since there could only be four players at once.

When it came to selecting our characters; Token picked Mario, Jimmy went for Toad, and Clyde settled for the ‘Fly Guy’ (Shy Guy). I let Tweek pick our character and he went for Yoshi.

The first course was selected and it was one of the basic Mario stadium courses. Tweek passed the controller to me and the race began. Clyde and I zoomed off ahead, Token went at a normal start, and Jimmy pressed the button too early and caused his kart to blow up.

“Fuck…f-f-f…f-fuck a duck.” Jimmy curses.

I end up taking the lead by quite a bit, Clyde chasing me in second. He’s super competitive; the kinda guy who leans in the same direction as he steers. He was constantly targeting me; sending red and blue shells in my direction at any chance he could. Typical.

The race ends with me in 1st, Clyde in 2nd, Token in 5th and Jimmy in 8th.

“Loser chugs his beer!!” Clyde makes a terrible suggestion. Jimmy rolls with it anyway, grabbing a can of beer and impressively chugging while Clyde and Token count from 10 down to zero. Jimmy can be a real dark horse. Well…maybe not when it comes to Mario Kart though.

Race number 2 is some sort of jack-and-the-beanstalk type level. Tweek takes the wheel this time, and it proved to have been a bad idea. The road has a lot of holes and tight corners without barriers, and Tweek somehow managed to fall off every single one. It even got to the point where the CPU in first place was lapping him.

Of course, he was very vocal about this. “Jesus are you kidding me?! How are you supposed to make that turn?! HOW?!”

Token ended up in 2nd place, Clyde in 4th, Jimmy in 5th, and Tweek…in last place. Before the other guys could even suggest it, I grabbed my can of beer and chugged for ten seconds. They just looked at me dumbfounded, including Tweek. Like hell was I gonna let Tweek chug his beer; I don’t even think he’s opened his can up yet. We’re a team, and I’m the one who’ll be taking the consequences.

The next race came around and it was one of the Bowser castles. Clyde struggled in this level, while Token, Jimmy and I were in the top three. Clyde, after somehow blaming Token for his loss, ended up coming 9th and chugged his beer like there was no tomorrow.

The last stage loaded up…Rainbow Road. Of COURSE Tweek had to get the two difficult courses... I kept my beer in my hand ready to chug again.

The race starts; there goes Clyde. Plummeting into the void below.

Jimmy starts off pretty well but eventually starts to lose his skill when it comes to the tight corners.

Token is a little better than the other two, but he keeps getting hit with items from the CPUs and ends up being knocked back in the placing.

With Clyde in last, Jimmy in 11th and Token in 9th…where does that put Tweek, I hear you ask? Well... Tweek was driving so slowly and cautiously that he managed to dodge the majority of the corners. Then he got a bullet item on the last lap and soared his way right into 2nd place. He even gave an excited little fist pump when he crossed the finish line.

“…...I think that victory alone deserves a chug from all of you.” I insist, slinging my arm around Tweek. He chuckles in response.

After a few groans and eye rolls, the three of them reluctantly chug their beer while Tweek and I counted down from 10.

~

A couple hours later and Jimmy had decided that we were going to play drinking games. How old were we again?

Tweek even agreed to it, intrigued at what kind of secrets were going to be revealed during this.

“Never have I ever…gotten arrested!” Token starts.

Well…we’ve all been in trouble with the police at some point, but actually arrested? Hmm…I’m sure I got caught with something illegal once. I drink anyway.

Jimmy drinks due to causing grievous bodily harm to his ex girlfriend, Nancy.

Clyde drinks due his whole involvement with the Nazi zombies and stealing the green goo from the government.

Tweek doesn’t drink because he’s never actually been arrested. Of course, he’s still been in trouble with the police like the rest of us back in our ‘vigilante’ days.

Next it was Jimmy’s turn. “N-never have I ever been awake for more than t-t-twenty four hours.”

Clyde doesn’t drink. The dude can’t function without at least 8 hours of sleep.

Token takes a sip while telling us about how one time he’d spent all night studying for finals and then worked a 12 hour shift the next day. He makes way too much work for himself sometimes...

Tweek and I both drink. Do I even need to explain Tweek’s reasoning?

“Uhhh…never have I ever…broken somebody's heart.” Tweek takes his turn.

Fuck, another shot for me. I had no regrets when it came to making girls cry when I was younger. He manages to catch the other three out too; Clyde and Token even clink their cans together, sighing disappointedly. We’re a gang of heartbreakers.

Clyde is up next. “Never have I everrrr…..sent a text to the wrong person!”

Nobody else drinks but Jimmy; I figured he would be pretty flippant in that area.

But then I realised something.

“…wait…that is horse shit.”

Clyde looks at me bewildered. I whip out my phone and bring up Clyde’s texts. I can feel Tweek’s chin resting on my shoulder, taking a peek.

“3 weeks ago. Wednesday, July 10th. 9:24pm. ‘hey babe u looked gorgeous on ur recent instagram pic, u got nice legs’.” I look back up at him with a blank expression, Tweek chuckling next to me.

Clyde goes completely silent for a minute, his face flushing bright pink. Jimmy and Token laugh a little too, Jimmy putting his arm over Clyde in sympathy.

“Are you s-sure he doesn’t just think your legs are nice, C-C-Craig?” Jimmy winks at me.

“Jimmy…when have I ever showed my legs on Instagram.” I scoff.

“There’s a first for everything!” Token jests.

~

In the early hours of the morning we find ourselves sprawled across the floor in our sleeping bags, watching All Dogs Go To Heaven - a film that Tweek had chosen. He was resting his head on my lap, and when it neared the end of the movie, I noticed him sniffing. I reached down and wiped away the tiny bit of water that had appeared under his eye. Meanwhile, Clyde had used up an entire tissue box, Token wasn’t even watching the film because he was cleaning up after Clyde, and Jimmy was making fun of every little aspect of the film.

When the movie finished we moved right onto another one; some cheesy comedy that Token had suggested. Mainly because Tyler Perry was in it.

Clyde was asleep within minutes; mouth wide open and snoring like a pig.

It didn’t take long for Jimmy to doze off too, clearly not impressed with the humour.

Token was now in his bed, snickering to himself and eating potato chips. From the angle he was at, he probably didn’t realise that all four of us were completely disinterested in the movie.

Tweek was snuggled into the side of my neck, slowly drifting into dream world. I drew circles on his back with the tip of my fingers, using my other hand to play with a strand of his thin blonde hair. A few years ago this would have never been a thing; there’d only be the four of us, with Tweek hanging out with entirely different cliques. Luckily the guys were quick to accept him into our group once we started dating, and treated him like one of us immediately.

I guess that’s one of the many things I can thank them for.

----

[canadiankazz]

The Fourth Time - An L.A. by Night fanfic

Jasper and Annabelle's relationship has taken a lot of intimate steps lately, but when she lets him take the reins, so to speak, and let his more dominant side out, they manage to find a way to get even more pleasure out of it. 

SPOILERS for the end of Campaign 1 including the one-shots. This has gone off canon, so consider this an AU. It's worth reading Part 1 (The First Time), Part 2 (The Second Time) and Part 3 (The Third Time) before you read this. This fic takes place almost directly after The Third Time. This was written before the premiere of Season 2, Episode 2.

I lay no claim to owning any of the characters involved. Things are gonna get more kinky than they have been in this series so far from here on out. We are way past tame wrist biting now. We’re getting into some mild BDSM stuff in this part.

As always, special thanks to @cravatfiend for the support and encouragement during the writing of the drafts. When I asked them for a safe word, they picked the best one for Annabelle. I had the privilege of watching them read this for the first time and all they could say was "...Damn!" High praise, indeed. 

All my love, also, to @gokaiyellow for their additional input, @fluffy-wookiees for being adorable, and to everyone else who has enjoyed this series so far. There are many more parts to come after this one, no worries. (As of posting, I’m currently finishing writing part 8 with ideas for part 9!)

Also posted to the author's Ao3.

First posted Feb, 2, 2019.

The Entire ‘Feeds From’ Master List Can be Found Here

The Fourth Time

Annabelle was having a nightmare. She was running for her life through a dark sewer. Her shoes splashed through the filth. Rats squeaked and scattered in a panic as she charged forwards. Behind her, she could hear a dreadful snarling echoing through the tunnel. She couldn’t see the monster chasing her, but she could hear it. Its hungry growling was getting closer and closer. When, not if, but when it caught her, it was going to rip her apart and eat her alive. Her eyes scanned the walls and curved ceiling frantically for a ladder or escape hatch up to the streets above. There! A ladder appeared to her right. She climbed it as fast as she could, but right when she was about to push up through the manhole cover, she felt sharp claws grab her leg and pull her back down. She screamed.

Annabelle woke with a shudder. Her Beast strained in her chest and throat. The room she was in was dark. There were no windows. She was on her side facing a blank wall. She could feel someone else's body pressed against her back and a long arm curved cosily around her side and stomach that was not her own. There was no breath or body heat coming from the person behind her.

Then she remembered. She was in Jasper's sanctum again. In his bed, again. And he had fed on her last night, again. And now...

She tried to turn her head to look at him without disturbing him. His arm tightened around her a little.

“Jasper?” she whispered.

“Mm.”

He was awake. Annabelle relaxed a little and went back to looking at the wall. He seemed comfortable where he was and so was she, to her mild surprise. Their relationship had taken many great leaps these past few months.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey,” he mumbled into her hair.

“Sleep well?”

“Like the dead.”

She rolled her eyes and poked his arm. “Ha. Ha.”

She heard him snarl softly in her ear as he smiled.

“You need a bigger bed,” she told him.

“Why?”

“Because we only barely fit on it.”

“I thought that this was only going to be a temporary thing,” he said, sounding amused. “Something to tie me over for a little while.”

“Well, clearly... it's not,” Annabelle said softly.

“We can't keep doing this forever,” he told her. His voice was gentle, but firm. “The others are going to find out, and... it's not a healthy relationship.”

Annabelle frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is that...” he sighed, thinking of what to say. She felt him roll back slightly away from her. “It's one sided.”

“No... you feed from me sometimes and let me sleep in your bed sometimes, that's fair.”

“But you don't have to sleep here.”

“You don't have to feed from me either, but here we are,” Annabelle said pointedly. She sighed and touched his hand. “I don't want to argue with you. I... I am happy for this to continue as long as you want. I don't feel like it's one sided, Jasper. I thought you liked it... Liked me.”

“I do,” he admitted softly, “but that’s the problem. I think I’m liking it too much and... that scares me.”

Annabelle thought she understood now. He had told her that a Kindred feeding from another was a big deal and she got why now. Blood was more than just food for them, it was life, and sharing your life with someone else left a big impact. So too did someone forcibly taking it away. He had been trying to adjust to this new, kinder type of feeding and despite the fact that they had only done it three or four times in the past few months, maybe things were still, on an emotional level, going a little too fast for him. Annabelle awkwardly shifted, rolling over to face him. His hoodie was down. From what little light there was in the bedroom, she could see his pale, gaunt face. “It’s okay,” she said. “Don’t let it scare you. I think I get it though. We’ve been kind of going at my pace a little bit.”

Jasper remained quiet, but gave a slight nod. He could see she was more or less on the right track. He felt it in his blood.

“Okay,” Annabelle sighed slowly. “Do you want some emotional space?”

“I think so. To think things over.”

Annabelle nodded and stroked his arm. Her Vitae has done a good job healing him. “Okay,” she said. She didn’t want to make Jasper uncomfortable in this relationship. “How about this... if you want to do this again, you call me, okay? And we’ll do it however you want to.”

“Okay,” Jasper said. He lent forward a little and his forehead touched Annabelle’s for a brief, tender moment. “Thank you,” he whispered. Then he rolled over and got out of bed.

Annabelle stayed where she was, not wanting to get up yet. “You still owe me a boon, remember?”

“Mm. True.”

“And I've thought about what I want from you. If anything happens to me, anything really bad, I want you to take care of Mark and Elleanore for me.”

“What do you mean by 'take care of?'” he asked.

“Watch out for them. Make sure they don't get attacked, I guess? Just keep them safe, as best you can.” Her hand found her golden locket around her neck and held it.

Jasper considered this briefly and decided that it wasn't unreasonable. It was certainly less embarrassing than teaching X how to moonwalk. “Alright,” he nodded.

“Thank you,” Annabelle said tenderly.

Then Jasper stretched his long limbs. Annabelle could her his joints crack and pop. She sat up and sighed. She was hungry. She needed to go.

She packed up her laptop and the little plastic candles she had brought the night before. Jasper helped to collect them. “Will I see you again later?” She asked hopefully.

Jasper shrugged. “At some point, yes. I want to explore my labyrinth this week, and I know the others will be tracking down those other Kindred who attacked us the other night. We should help with that.”

Annabelle nodded. She was angry that her group had been attacked and she hadn't been there to help. At least she could help in the aftermath. She dreaded to think what would have become of Jasper if she hadn't gotten to him when she did. “Yeah.”

An invisible Jasper walked Annabelle to Griffith College, then they parted ways. They both had a lot to do.

**

Jasper kept himself busy over the next few weeks. He explored his labyrinth. He visited Eva. He received and carried out more jobs for Baron Abrams. All the while, Annabelle's movements and moods were in the back of his mind. The longer he went without feeding on her, the weaker his bond with her became. Part of him missed that. He found himself delaying finding another more permanent solution to his empty larder. He knew that eventually he would have to go back to his more aggressive feeding style, but he also knew he would miss having someone give him their honest and thoughtful consent. It made him feel a tiny bit less like a monster.

That got him thinking. Despite himself, he started to formulate a plan, purely hypothetical, of how his next feeding session with Annabelle could go. She had asked him to come back to her when he was ready to initiate things again and had said that they could do things his way if they wanted to. He had genuinely appreciated that. There was something dominant about him that was asking to be satisfied. Every time it came down to the act of feeding in the past, Jasper had been violent and dominant. Until Annabelle came along and offered herself to him, that is. That had changed things. Jasper had become what was for him, very submissive. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it wasn't what he wanted to be doing all the time, every time.

He was curious, also, about how far he could push Annabelle's boundaries. She was the one who always wanted more and he had been holding back. He knew very well what he was physically capable of and what his Beast demanded of him. The thought of challenging Annabelle, daring her to keep up with him intrigued him. By the time Jasper finished planning the night he had in mind, he knew that he might regret it forever if he didn't try it. The worst that would happen was Annabelle would say no. He might be a little disappointed, but that was nothing new. He waited another few nights, then decided to set his plan in motion.

**

Annabelle was on her way home when she thought she heard something behind her. She paused, straining her senses, searching for something unseen. At first, there was nothing, then she heard Jasper’s disembodied voice in her ear. “Hey.”

She jumped. “God...!”

“No, just me.” Jasper sounded highly amused.

“Jasper, what are you doing?” She hissed, annoyed at being startled like that.

“I was going to ask you...” he started, then hesitated, possibly reconsidering his words. “Would like to come over tomorrow night for another round?”

Annabelle felt a ghost of a touch on her neck and shoulder, right where he had bitten her last time. She shivered and something deep in her core twisted in the memory of pleasure. “Uhhh... sure,” she said faintly. Her mouth was dry and she swallowed. “Can I ask why? I thought you might not want to any more.”

“I’d been thinking,” Jasper said in her ear with a light snarl, “that there are a few things I would like to try with a consenting individual such as yourself, and I don’t know when I will get the chance to do them again. I would be a fool to not ask.” He put special emphasis on the word ‘consenting.’ His voice was soft and sensual, unusually so, but it was undercut with a thirst that Annabelle recognised.

“Okay, um... how about I come over tomorrow and we’ll talk about it and... see where we go from there,” she said.

“Alright. Come by 3:00,” Jasper replied, “and bring those little plastic candles. And yes... you may sleep over as well.”

Annabelle nodded. “See you then.”

“Oh, one last thing...” she felt Jasper’s lips on her ear and she shivered again, despite herself. “In the meantime, can you think of a safe word, please?”

Annabelle’s eyes went very wide. What on earth could he be planning that would need a safe word? “Uh...” she stammered.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course. Well, I have to, for us to do this, right?”

“We don’t have to do this,” he reminded her.

“I know, but... I want to.” Annabelle swallowed nervously and steadied her nerves. “Okay. I’ll think of something.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow.”

She didn’t hear him leave, but she hadn’t heard him approach either. She stood there in mild shock for another little while with her hands over her mouth and cheeks. She cursed herself for being as excited as she was. This was going to be very, very interesting. She hurried the rest of the way home.

**

When Annabelle arrived once again at Jasper's sanctum the next night, she had her bag with her with the plastic candles and her laptop in it. She had fed earlier, as much as she could without killing any one. She was almost beside herself with nervous excitement. Part of her thought that she should be more apprehensive, that she should let someone know where she was just in case things went bad. But she trusted Jasper. He had been very good to her so far, very good indeed, and he didn't seem to want to ruin this relationship they had going. She trusted the control he had over himself. She still believed that, over-all, he wasn't a bad guy.

She knocked on his front door. Jasper answered it quickly. He had been waiting for her in the passage way on the other side again. He was wearing a different black hoodie this night. This one had fewer layers and just a straight zipper up and down. It was casual. Easy to get into and out of. Interesting.

They smiled at each other and Jasper invited her in. She followed him closely back down the long passage way, though she was sure by now she had the route memorised. They caught up with a little small talk. As they got closer to his rooms, Annabelle could hear faint music. It was classical, something with an orchestra and a choir. They weren't singing in English... Latin, maybe? Annabelle wasn't as knowledgeable on her classical pieces. “You're playing music?” She asked, pleased and surprised.

“Yeah, to set a mood.” Jasper smirked at her. She recognised her own line that she had used on him last time she was here.

“Oh, I see,” she chuckled. “What is it?”

“Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor.” Jasper licked his fangs. “Tell me... have you learned Blush of Life yet?”

“Um... yeah. Yes, I have.” Annabelle had used it very successfully around Elleanore. It gave her a pulse, warmed her skin, let her breathe and otherwise seem almost entirely human again. Annabelle tilted her head a little at Jasper, slowly working out what he had planned. “Why?”

His grin was sharp. “I would like you to use it tonight.”

“Oh... yeah, sure. Right now?”

“If you'd like, or we can wait until we get to the bedroom.”

“I'll wait,” she decided. So far, she liked where this was going.

In the bedroom, they set up her candles on the floor as they did last time. The room was soon full of artificial, warm candlelight. The classical music continued in the background, unobtrusive.

“Did you decide on a safe word?” Jasper inquired.

“Yeah. Um... are you familiar with the stoplight method?”

He considered it. “Red, yellow, green?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Green means go, yellow means slow down, and red means stop. It's basic, but effective.”

Jasper nodded. “Alright. We're going to use that tonight. Unless I hear you say 'yellow' or 'red,' I'm going to assume that everything is green.”

“No gags, then, please,” Annabelle specified.

“No,” Jasper agreed. That had never been a part of his plan for tonight.

Annabelle kept glancing at his fangs while he spoke. She couldn’t help it. His eyes had a hungry and excited gleam. She suspected that he and his Beast were working in near harmony tonight. Well, they had their safe word in place. Everything would be okay. She was feeling brave and keen to see how far Jasper was going to push things tonight.

When she was ready, Annabelle nodded and slipped off her red jacket, as was their custom by now. She had worn the good bra again. Jasper recognised the shape of it under her thin tank top. He snarled a little when he smiled.

“On the bed, please,” he gestured to the bed. Annabelle complied, her lips twitching into a little smile. She sat on the bed, then lay back. As she did so, she activated Blush of Life. Her Beast stirred a little, but was still mostly dormant. She glanced at Jasper. He was staring at her with an expression of incredible desire. He came over to her and sat on the bed. He held her hand and seemed to marvel for a few seconds at its warmth. Annabelle's body fell back into the natural rhythm of breathing. Jasper felt her pulse in her wrist. His fingers were very cold by comparison, and felt very dead. He snarled to himself, pleased.

“I don't have Blush of Life,” he explained softly. “I never bothered to learn how to do it. I mean... why would I? Who am I going to try to convince that I'm alive?”

“You still could learn,” Annabelle said. She could think of at least one person he might have used Blush of Life on, if he could, but bringing up that person was very likely going to ruin the mood, so she didn't.

He shook his head. “I could, but it's doubtful.” He seemed to be enjoying just feeling her hands for a moment. The classical music swelled and faded into a new piece of a similar feel to the last, but a faster tempo.

Jasper moved suddenly. With little warning, he was on top of Annabelle, straddling her hips. He had one knee pressed on either side of her ribs. He wasn't very heavy, especially not for a Brujah's strength to support. Annabelle's insides quivered in anticipation. She felt vulnerable, but she remembered all she had to do was say one or two words and he would stop. She understood finally what he had been planning. Jasper looked down at Annabelle, his icy eyes boring into hers. Her heartbeat sped up considerably. Her face flushed. She met his gaze, excited but steady. The degree to which she wanted this to continue bewildered her.

Slowly now, he peeled his hood off his head. Then his hands went to the zipper in the front of his hoodie and he slowly began to tug it down. Annabelle's eyes went wide as Jasper's chest was exposed. He was built of nothing but lean muscle. His flesh was as pale as death save for the starkly contrasting mass of black veins that criss-crossed his body like an insane roadway map. He had no body hair. He unzipped the hoodie down to the bottom, but didn't take it all the way off. This was a compromise, she realised. She had wanted to see what he looked like under his layers for a while, and he had always said no. This was an in-between he was allowing her.

She gave him a warm smile, but when she reached to touch him he stopped her. He gripped one hand in each of his and leaned down over her. He pinned her warm hands and wrists down with his deathly cold hands to the mattress above her head. He continued to watch her, as if daring her to say 'yellow' or 'red.' She didn't. His grip on her was strong. Their faces were close now. Annabelle was breathing hard.

Jasper bared his fangs and growled at her, as if trying to scare her. He was the monster from myth and legend, the deadly black shadow with razor sharp fangs who stalked helpless people at night and she was the young, naive victim. He was perhaps even trying to provoke her one last time into saying their safe word. She did look scared for a moment. There was fear in her eyes, in her Beast, but still she didn’t say either of the words that would make Jasper pull back. A true victim, she was no longer. Annabelle was allowing this to happen.

“Green?” he rasped, edging towards losing control.

“Green,” she nodded and tilted her head to expose her neck. Blood, warm blood, flowed there, and some of it at least, was his for the taking.

The music swelled again in the background as the choir reached a melodramatic crescendo. With a hungry snarl Jasper bit Annabelle hard in the throat. She gasped at the pain. Jasper had good aim. His long, wicked fangs had landed right on her jugular. He bit deep, and his mouth filled with Vitae. She was as sweet, strong and aroused as always, but this time her blood was body temperature. Jasper had never had warm Vitae from another Kindred before. His Beast exalted. He began to drink greedily, keeping an ear open for Annabelle wanting to end this early. He hoped she would not.

The pleasure of the Kiss soon followed, radiating out over Annabelle's body and making her moan. Her eyes rolled back in her skull. She flexed her arms against Jasper, but he still held her down, firmly pinning her to the mattress. Her body, still under the influence of Blush of Life, reacted as it normally would have to intense pleasure. Her heart hammered in her chest. Her pulse raced, sending vital blood into Jasper's hungry mouth. Her brain was very soon dizzy, but she didn't care. Her Beast scrambled, but was soundly ignored in the overwhelming wave of sensations. Annabelle didn't know if it was because of this new, intense situation or the anticipation that had led up to it, but the pleasure this time was near orgasmic. When she felt Jasper bite a little harder in his enthusiasm, it crossed that threshold and she crested with a cry. Annabelle's body trembled uncontrollably underneath Jasper's from her core outwards.

Jasper lingered on Annabelle's throat for a moment or two longer, then pulled his head back with a snarl. His fangs and tongue were painted a deep crimson. Annabelle only barely noticed this. She shivered when he licked her wound closed and he thought he heard her whimper. His Beast whispered at him to continue, that this had been the best he ever had, but he clenched his jaw and ignored it.

Jasper sat up and let her hands go. She didn't move them. She lay there still, breathing hard, eyes closed. Each exhale had a little moan attached to it. He watched her chest heave up and down for a minute. The music faded and changed again to a soprano singing backed by strings and a piano.

Annabelle opened her eyes and saw Jasper watching her. He was still straddling her hips. She smiled up at him. “Wow,” she mumbled. She lowered her hands and rested them on his knees on either side of her body. Jasper didn’t mind. He chuckled at her reaction. “I... mm...” Words were failing her as her blood-deprived brain swam in a haze of endorphins.

“Good?” Jasper confirmed.

Annabelle still couldn’t speak, but she nodded.

Jasper slid carefully off of her and sat on the bed next to her. He hadn't taken a lot of Vitae this time, but what he had taken was potent indeed. His head was also filled with endorphins, mainly from her, but he didn't have the Blush of Life to let his body do anything about it.

“I can't believe you let me do that,” he chuckled softly. He re-zipped up his hoodie, but only part way. He left the top third or so of it open. “I thought for sure you were going to stop me when I pinned you down.”

Annabelle stretched and smiled at him. Other than an internal scolding from her Beast, she was content, still reeling slightly from the pleasures she had been through. “But I didn't.”

Jasper relaxed down next to her on the narrow bed as best he could. He found himself playing a little with her long, black hair. Their bond had deepened again, he knew. At that moment, in that place, he did not care. “You liked it... rather a lot,” he remarked, still amused. His fangs, when Annabelle saw them, were clean now.

“Yeah...” Annabelle marvelled. She covered her face with her hands as embarrassment washed over her. The pleasure this time had been too, too much. “Oh my God!” he heard her muffled giggle.

“What?” Jasper inquired, though he was fully aware of what had happened to her body and why. He was having fun.

Annabelle peeked at him through her fingers. She was grinning. “Is that what you had planned?” she demanded.

“More or less, yes. I'm glad it worked.”

Annabelle groaned softly. “Did you know about... that I would...”

Jasper smirked. “I kind of suspected... but no, but it was a pleasant surprise.” He stroked a cold, pale hand down her arm to her chest, where it settled over her still-beating heart.

“Boy, I'll say,” Annabelle agreed.

Feeling Annabelle's magically enforced heartbeat made Jasper get very quiet and suddenly a little introverted. His eyes found the gold locket hanging around Annabelle's neck and the silver ring on her finger and he pulled his hand back. He got up and went to turn off the music and the lights so that they could settle into bed.

When dawn broke over the City of Angels, the majority of the population arose to begin their day of work and school and life, but Jasper and Annabelle were once again literally dead to the world. The two vampires shared the little bed, holding each other. Where their relationship would take them now, neither of them knew, but in that moment at least, they were content.

[magic5ball]

Nature Trail to Hell Arc II: Watt Outta Hell (8)

Chapter 8: A Dik-Dik Screws us Over

 If there’s one thing you need to know about the WEEB life, it’s that it doesn’t last.

The day things came tumbling down, F-Bomb and I were just sittin’ in front of the T.V. watching reruns of F-Bomb’s personal favorite series, Sailor Moon high on WEEB (we were using F-Bomb’s favorite method: eating it straight from a bowl covered in milk). As for Sailor Moon (F-Bomb’s pillow, that is), she was sitting propped up on the bed so she could look at the T.V., too. Of course, F-Bomb had insisted that he didn’t like Sailor Moon that much and was only doing it for his girl’s sake, but I dunno. I’d get embarrassed watching myself get beat up and bailed out last minute by a hot guy in a suit for the hundredth time.

           Now, when we did these things, I should remind the audience we always watched with subtitles. The first reason was it delivered a more authentic experience that wasn’t dumbed down by an idiot who wouldn’t know a donut from a rice ball if either got lodged in his throat. The second reason was F-Bomb would always, always, always start ranting about his personal problems to Sailor Moon and me. And on that particular day, the topic was how everyone was being an ungrateful jerk to Sailor mini-Moon.

“Like, everyone says ‘Oh, she’s so annoying! Oh, she’s so mean!’ But I know the real reason they all hate her: it’s ‘cause she’s short! She’s small, and clueless, and scared, so they think they can pick on her!”

At times like this, Moon and I would just focus on the screen and roll our eyes. Maybe add in an “Uh-huh.” To look like we were listening. Frankly, I just liked Sailor Mini Moon ‘cause she was cute, but F-Bomb? He always, and I mean always had to go into a five paragraph essay about this stuff.

“And maybe if those noobs were paying attention, they’d realize that she might just be lonely ‘cause she’s been sent back in time with a bunch of weirdos she barely knows, struggling to find her place in the world, while they keep putting her down just ‘cause she’s a kid!”

There was an awkward silence in the room as F-Bomb took several seconds of deep breaths.

“Anyways, what do you think, Moon?”

Silence.

“Moon!?”

Again, nothing. And not just Moon’s usual silence, either. This was deep silence. The kind that eats up all the noise in a room.

F-Bomb paused the DVD and we turned around. Sailor Moon was gone.

For the first time, I saw F-Bomb on the verge of tears. His whole body trembled with shock.

“OhPorecelainGodOhPorecelainGodOhPorecelainGodOhPorecelainGod…”

Thinking fast, I brightened the dim lights. The good news was we found her, resting on her side in a corner of the room. The bad news was she was trapped in the diabolically adorable hooves of none other than Weena.

F-Bomb slowly pulled his machine gun out from under the bed; pointed it directly at Weena. “PUT. MY GIRL. THE FORK. DOWN.”

Weena, not giving a crap,  used her hind leg to scratch behind her ear. It was the most adorable freakin’ thing I’d ever laid eyes on. But like most adorable things in the underworld, Weena had a dark side. Mere seconds later the furry abomination was ripping the corner of Sailor Moon with her tiny widdle teeth, pulling out the soft clouds of cotton that made up Moon’s life force. It took all my strength not to hurl. F-Bomb wasn’t as lucky. Before he could pull the trigger on his gun, he was coughing his WEEB up all over the floor, leaving a sickly rainbow puddle at his feet. If anybody was going to fix this mess, it would have to be me. Granted, my mind was whirring a million miles a minute, mostly through stupid anime references, but gosh darn it, I had to do something before Sailor Moon became Weena’s latest chew toy. My legs began trembling, like they usually do when I’m nervous. I reached for my machine gun- only for my eyes make contact with Weena’s. The moment I stared into those, dark, sunken, adorable orbs I found myself unable to pull the trigger. My eyes darted, searching for something slightly less lethal. This turned out to be a very shiny rock resting on F-Bomb’s bookshelf with all his anime figurines. Grabbing it, I flung it near Weena, just enough to scare her away. Yet somehow, someway, I hit my mark square on the leg, leaving a thin red line running down it. At first I cheered, having finally done something right. Then the cheering stopped as I remembered that whenever I thought I did anything right, it usually meant I did something horribly wrong. And who better to affirm my crippling doubts that recently awakened F-Bomb!

“Y-you forkin’ idiot…” he grumbled. “What have you done?!”

Despite Weena’s wound looking like nothing worse than a paper cut (though to be fair, I once spent an entire day in the school nurse’s office because of one) she really put on a show. She’d dramatically dragged her body away from Sailor Moon, leaving only the faintest trail of blood behind, finally resting with her legs in the air and her tongue rolling out of her mouth. My triumph was now ice cold dread. I’d killed Weena! The spirit that kept the entire gang alive! The closest thing the boss had to a girlfriend! If A-Hole found out about this, getting caught smoking WEEB would be the least of my worries. But there was one thing I could do. Swallowing my last shred of pride, I prepared to deliver the breath of life to Weena’s lips. Only for F-Bomb to grab my ankle.

“Oh, for fork’s sake, ya moron. Weena ain’t dead!”

“She’s not?!” Relief shot through me as I realized my first kiss might not have to be a Dik-Dik after all.

“For starters, you barely scratched the girl. Second, and listen close, this is real important.” I leaned in close, eager to hear what wisdom my friend had to dispense. “WE’RE IN HELL, YOU FORKIN’ MORON! WE JUST REGENERATE WHEN WE DIE! HOW DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THIS?!” Several deep breaths later, he continued, his mind slowly sobering up from the WEEB. “A-and to top it all of, of all the weapons on my shelf, you had to use my mint-condition, authentic CashMoney Stone! Do you know what forkin’ happens to anyone hit by that thing?!”

“Uh… something?” Specifically, Weena had dropped her façade and now faced us, lightning bolts flashing in her eyes. Literally. Left sparks on the floor and everything.

F-Bomb sighed. “Just look at it this way: we’re not getting Moon back without a fight!”

           The second he finished, Weena charged us, a trail of thunderbolts in her wake. F-Bomb and I tried to dodge, but the little raptor wasn’t able to get his tail out of the way fast enough. He let out a screech of pain as his feathers stood up end on end before crumpling on the ground like a thanksgiving turkey. I tried to run, only to realize my hair was standing on end. There would be no escaping the judgement of the Dik-Dik. Satisfied she’d fried us into chicken dinner, Weena went right on back to pulling the stuffing out of Sailor Moon. You should have seen it. Man, it was GRIZZLY! Of course, even being reduced to a barbeque turkey wasn’t enough to stop the ‘Bomb, especially when his waifu was on the line.

“Watt” he croaked, “if there was ever a forking time I wanted you to do me a genuine solid and not fork everything up, now is the forking time! Now, if I’m right (and you know I forking am), Weena was pokevolved into Weenachu. She can cover anything around her in static electricity, and it gets stronger the closer you are to her body!”

“So we just moisterize our skin?” I asked, remembering something my science teacher taught me.

“Is that what our forkin’ schools are teaching kids these frokin’ days? No wonder American education has gone down the forkin’ tubes! No, ya forkin’ dingbutt! Weren’t ya payin’ attention when I told you about Pokémon? Electric types are weak ta grass types! And I have the most powerful kinda grass in the world right under my bed! While I’m going ta get it, I need you ta get the largest piece of plant matter I own.”

An audible gasp escaped my mouth, almost enough to alert Weena. “Y-you mean, we have to sacrifice our secret WEEB stash?! But I-”

“No, you forking moron! I mean my Naruto Omnibus. Like Hell I’m giving up WEEB!”

The Naruto Omnibus. An epic saga consisting of every Naruto chapter ever published (including spin off series)! It was wider than I was tall and consisted of more pages than the complete works of Shakespeare, Tolkien, and Dr. Seuss combined. As I crept down the shelf, I wondered why Weena wasn’t doing everything. Didn’t take long to find out why, though, ‘cause the closer I inched to the sacred tome, the closer I got to Weena,  the more every single hair on my body stood on end, tingling with electrical power, reminding me all too much of the time I crawled up a slide. One bad move, and I could be sparked out of existence. And through this suffering, I could only watch as Weena tore the stuffing out of Sailor Woon and sleep in the cottony aftermath. After what felt like an hour, I finally made it to my destination: the giant omnibus that took up an entire shelf worth of space. So of course then was when I realized I couldn’t carry the thing in my wildest dreams! When I tried to signal F-Bomb about this, he just gave a thumb (though it was more like a finger) up and tossed his secret weapon out from under the bed: a single floret of giga-broccoli. Weena sniffed it tepidly, then, doubting it was a threat swallowed it whole. Keep in mind the little Dik-Dik was a vegetarian, so her head didn’t exactly explode, but based on the way her pupils expanded, it was definitely having some kind of effect on her.

F-Bomb gave me a middle finger from under the bed. It was time to act.

With all the strength I could muster I took that omnibus and slammed it right on top of Weenna. A loud thud, like thunder, shook the room as the tome hit its’ target squashing her flatter than a pancake on Jupiter. When F-Bomb and I finally removed the tome, all that remained was a pink stain that smelled like cotton candy and baby kittens. To the last (until she regenerated, at least), Weena had been absolutely adorable. What wasn’t adorable was the loud sound of footsteps coming from the entrance tunnel.

“Hey, guys, I was wondering if either of you had se- OHMYPORECELAINGODWHATDIDYOUDOTOMYWEENA???!!!”

“Get the fork off our case, boss.” Muttered F-Bomb “It ain’t her. Just Turdsy here spilled his strawberry milk while was was learnin’ to vivisect caribou!” I had to hand it to F-Bomb, when he wasn’t being a curse spouting, animu hoarding spazz, he could really hold his own under pressure.

A-Hole sniffed the air with his undeceiveable Deinono nose.

“You smell that, you forkin’ turds? That’s definitely baby kittens and smiles. You guys can’t forkin’ fool me!” For a split second, I saw an expression that looked jarringly out of place on A-Hole. The rest of the gang, if you ever meet them, will deny it ever happened, but I know what I saw, and what I saw was…

A-Hole crying, a single tear sliding down his hideous, scaly face. “Now how am I supposed to attract the babes?!”

“Oh, for fork’s sake, you forkin’ baby! We’re in forkin’ Hell! She’ll probably forkin’ regenerate in a few days and show up somewhere random like she always forkin’ does!” cried F-Bomb, mustering up one final insult before our inevitable doom. Or destroying any chance A-Hole might have mercy on us, depending on your point of view.

To which A-Hole cried “It’s not the same after regeneration!”

           As for me, I stared at the pink splatter on the floor, trying to imagine my life was flashing before my eyes for a good reason and not because A-Hole was gonna give it to us. Sailor Moon still sat in the corner, stuffing pulled out, injured but alive. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse (something I really need to stop doing) A-Hole sniffed the air.

“Wait a second, is that…”

F-Bomb, at last, broke. “I-I dunno what the fork you’re talkin’ about! Just take us to our punishment already! N-nothing to hide anymore, no siree!”

Too late. By the time F-Bomb had finished his sentence, our verdict had been laid down by A-Hole, our private judge, jury, and executioner.

One look. Just one look at the stuff was all he needed to know.

All he did was point a single finger-claw at us; the rage in the room palpable “Come to my office.” He beckoned.

[kandadiff]

Chapter 17 - Aftermath & New Beginnings

Sorry for making you wait

It had been a few days since meeting with my brothers and a week since your funeral and everyone was talking the fact that you were dead differently. Shawn completely immersed himself in any and all assignments he was given and Shawn who usually smiled 95% of the time rarely cracked on in the past week. Hes been acting more and more like Simon, snarky and sarcastic. I tried to ask him if he wanted to talk about it but he was still in denial that anything was wrong with him and he flipped at Roman for something and in the past week I saw Roman less and less. 

Edward had taken another dark turn. He decided not to go back to England and was in the middle of moving back to the city but until he bought a house or find an apartment his tiny family was moved in with his brother and Kitty. Everytime we spoke or I went over to his house to bring the twins for a playdate with they’re new bestfriend Jia, he always seemed in a daze and numb. Like shawn he rarely put on a smile unless Jia was in the room, If she wasn’t it was like he was barely there. 

The Joker had taken things almost exactly how you would have imagined. He bought Hayleys house from her for a ridiculous sum of money in order to keep searching for you. He bought a few boats and an entire scuba team too. He was also beginning at act out his frustration, while he would be more calmer around you he now flipped out at the slightest provocation. He killed 7 of his men in 5 days and now that you were gone he just started killing when he needed something done preferring that easier route instead of manipulation. Hayley also was hanging around him way to much which was an annoyance to me because he thought he could come over my house whenever he wanted too, and now she was there as well. As often as him. I hadn’t spent a quiet night in my house since instead taking the twins to practice there abilities in other parts of the compound but that didn’t stop Hayley from wanting to suddenly become my best friend. 

As for Michael it was radio silence from him and his gang. No word from the underground and no one has seen him leave ‘Castle KillMonger’ since your funeral. 

I however was feeling sick, I didn’t know if it was the fact that I thought the assisin crew that once went after us decided to resurface and finish there job on me or because I boarded up the room that once belonged to you in my house. Unable to even look at it without bursting into tears or maybe because the twins now hung up your picture next to Maxis’s. They broke my heart every time they spoke about it and wishing to see you again. 

Your fans were still devastated, people still walked around in Bunny costumes and had your names inked forever on there body which was a comforting reminder of you.

Except tonight. The criminal underground goes on and so must The Sanctuary. It was a half moon high in the sky as I waited with Negan my motorcycle. It felt so odd to be taking the ‘Hell Cat’ bike out without ‘Jinks’ accompanying me. We were supposed to meet with a fencer (a person who sells things on the black market for a small 10% of whatever we sell) for the large crown ruby that was crushing into my chest and a bubbling in my stomach. It would have been no big deal and something I could have done on my own save for the seemingly endless crowd of bunnies who recognized my Cat Helmet as one of Jinks friends and demanded my autograph. I had no idea what the hell to sign so I just wrote the letters HC with a bunch of scribbles between them. They wanted to know my name and why I didn’t brand myself more but I didn’t want to talk and they weren’t satisfied with my simple answer of “I’m not into being in the public eye.” While staring behind them at the foggy street waiting for either Negan, Simon or the fence to show up. This is what I get for leaving early.

A loud police siren rang through the fog and the bunnies scattered away from the approaching light. I laughed still leaning against the motorcycle and fixing the Ruby so it wasn’t as obvious that it was on my chest. A blue truck pulled up and I smiled. “Did those fuckers leave?” Simon asked after he parked the truck. I smiled and took off my helmet and nodded. “Good; those fucks are turning more and more annoying” He reached in his pocket and took out a slightly smaller then the ruby, Diamond. “Here ya go Kid.” 

“Thanks” I stuffed the diamond my the ruby and waited for Negan with Simon.

“Fair warning to you” He said leaning against the brick building. “Joker and Hayley is with him.”

“What? why?”

Simon shrugged “Those fucks are always trying to get involved in anything now. I think that girl likes the trill and who the fuck knows with The Joker.” I nodded in agreement. The clouds moved in the sky slowly blocking out the light from the moon dulling the streets even more. “You okay out here, kid?” he asked “No offense but you got a lot of people after you and with Michael throwing us the silent treatment I wouldn’t trust him either.”

“Eh” I shrugged “I’m not alone. I have you and you’ll have my back.” I smiled and he threw me a smirk. “So I heard your doing a fanstasic job with your own gang” He nodded proudly. “Good because I think Jay should keep the biggest gang given to Adi but you should take the second one. I’ve been talking to Negan about it. I think you can handle it.”

“you think so?” He laughed “You gotta come visit me sometimes. You can even bring the kids. I gotta nice house and the workers are pretty okay too.” I laughed and nodded. 

“Well I don’t know about the kids but I’ll visit Id love to see your new house but I do have to admit I miss you at the Sanctuary. Your house just sits there no ones in it. I guess I’m just holding it until you visit us!” I playfully scolded and he laughed loudly “What?” I hit his shoulder.

“It’s nice to know you miss me darlin’” He smiled “Negan pissing you off when i’m not there?”

“A little” I laughed and shook my head “but I think he misses you too. Shawn is his new right hand man at the sanctuary but no one could replace you.” I joked and Simon stared at me for a moment before another car pulled up and I sighed. “Great I see Hayley’s red hair now.”

“Red?” Simon asked standing up straight and walking with me over to the car.

“Yup she dyed it.”

- - - - - 

The drop off went better then I though considering we had to go with Hayley who wouldn’t shut the fuck up but split between me, Negan and Simon was $800 million dollars for three jewels. However directly after we dropped off Joker and Hayley at the playhouse lines of Bunnies by the gate and Simon complained and shouted at them causing me and Negan to laugh before we dropped him home. And after we got home we checked on the sleeping kids and went straight to bed ourselves. 

I woke up to the smell of toast and “pancakes?” I yawned and threw off my sleeping mask, Negan smiled as he set down the breakfast tray on the table by the couch. “What’s this?” I asked and he took my hands in his own leading me to the table. It had all of my favorite things on it, Blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup, a fruit cup with sugar gently sprinkled on top and a banana/strawberry smoothie. I couldn’t help but smile then for a moment panicked. Was this an anniversary that I forgot? Oh shit, no, no our anniversary was in October. Something else? It wasn’’t his birthday...right? No, his birthday passed... was it mine? What the hell was the date?

“Sit Princess” he said pulling out my chair and I smiled at him as he sat across from me. “So I see how fucking confused you are and no it’s not a special holiday yet.”

“Yet?” I raised an eyebrow and he held up his hand. 

“The kids have eaten already and I told Thomas to take them to the river for the morning. Because I want to talk about something.” I nodded getting butterflies in my stomach; the words ‘talk about something’ always left butterflies in my stomach and my mind automatically went to horrible thoughts. No he wouldn’t do that, not with this breakfast. I’ll stab him.

“Shit, doll that look on your face is making me nervous. What happened to the smile? Bring that back.” He joked making me smile again and relax a little. 

“Sorry.” I said taking a bit of a strawberry. “I just didn’t expect this.”

“Don’t think I can be romantic?” He teased and I threw a blueberry at him. He took my hand in his. “I know things have been sad and fucking depressing around here lately with little purse dog gone missing and that fucking rocket mouth Hayley digging her way in with Joker and the joker himself so I wanted to do something nice.”

“This is nice.” I said smiling wide my heart swelling for the man in front of me “This is really sweet daddy thank you.”

He growled at the name but didn’t pounce on me like I thought he would. “I do want to remind you that it ain’t all bad. I love you, the kids love you, we are making this fucking city our bitch, I know things ain’t easy right now. Those fucking brothers of yours and the gangs against us. It’s a lot.” I nodded “But I want to ask you a question and I’m not a fucking dick so I figured I do it in private in case it ain’t the answer I want.” I raised an eyebrow confused and Negan stood up.

“Where are you going?” He then knelt down on one knee and my eyes widened, my heart beating faster and faster. “What’s going on? Negan?”

“Princess,” He said taking my hand in his again but I couldn’t move. I felt frozen just listening to him. “I know you grew up a long fucking time ago so I decided to do this the classic way.” He took out a small blue velvet box. “I know that you love Maximus with all you had and I loved my Lucille and I know that I wasn’t a good husband to her but I promise that if you want me. I’ll be the best motherfucking husband to you. I fucking love you, I loved you for a long time and I know you love me.” He paused thinking of his words carefully “I love those kids like they are my own and I am and will be a damn good ‘baba’ to them.” I chuckled a bit. “You don’t have to answer me now, but I ain’t changing my mind. I want to marry you, only you, forever.” He opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring but my mind was spinning.