#the shower is so warm and nice why must outside be evil

[styxbugg]

Don’t trust your thoughts after you get out a shower into a cold room. Wtf is going on up there

[fanfics4all]

Requests are open! Here's some Prompts!

Angst Prompts

“This will be the last time you lie to me.”

“You know it’s not like that.”

“How could you think this wouldn’t hurt me?”

“You’re never going to be the same after this.”

“I just think it’d be best if we never met.”

“I can’t believe you would even think to leave me like this.”

“You never loved me, did you?”

“It didn’t have to be like this, but now you’ve ruined everything.”

“I hope you’re happy.”

“If you had have kept your mouth shut, then he’d still- he’d still be here!”

“What did you want once this was all through? Tell me!”

“Now I have to deal with the consequences of your actions. Thanks, it means a lot.”

“You could’ve- could’ve stayed. You could’ve helped me fix things.”

“I knew she’d never change, she was too stubborn, too similar to me.”

“This isn’t going to be fixed. You’ve ruined this for good now.”

“I hope I’m not put in the same part of hell as you.”

“When did you think you could hurt me again? Today? Tomorrow?”

“You’re back in my life and I want to die again.”

“You only ever brought me pain and I’m sick of it.”

“I hope you got what you wanted.”

“You made me miserable and I still loved you.”

“When you die, I’ll be the first to dance on your grave.”

“Don’t underestimate me, I have more power than you can even comprehend.”

“If only you knew what you’d brought upon yourself.”

“We’re never going to have a happy ending, just remember that.”

“Everytime something goes well, I momentarily forget how much I despise you.”

“Don’t pretend like you’re not happy to see me like this.”

“There is nothing worse than seeing you get what you want.”

“Your mind must be a horrible place.”

“You can cut me, bruise me and skin me alive, but you will not take her from me.”

“How is it that we always end up in this predicament?”

“I want to wipe that grin of your face with my sword, but my mother taught me to play nicely.”

“Did anyone ever tell you how pathetic you are? It’s incredible how low my standards are for you.”

“Ah, well if you want them back alive, I suggest you lay down your own life.”

“Don’t be ‘smart’. The battlefield is no place for Math Scholars.”

“You shouldn’t have come. You can’t be-”

“Stop talking or tomorrow won’t come.”

“Hand me the gun and I’ll kill him myself.”

“I shouldn’t care for your life, but I’m starting to and it’s becoming an inconvenience.”

“If you live to see her, please send my best regards and this box of her father’s ashes.”

“It would’ve been nice to get to know you better, but I’m afraid I don’t care.”

“I can’t help but think you’re a terrible person.”

“Seeing your face has unconventionally made me want to die. I wasn’t quite prepared for this feeling.”

“You could have loved me, I’m quite good at seducing, but you’re actually vile.”

“I hope I see you in a bodybag sometime.”

“Let’s pretend you didn’t cheat on me with my sister and be good people for a few minutes.”

“We should probably stop talking forever.”

“If I hated you anymore, I think I’d probably be crowned as satan’s right-hand man.”

“To say I ‘tolerate you’ is a vast overstatement.”

“You broke her heart and came back for more, you bastard.”

“This isn’t fifth grade, this is a courtroom, you whore.”

“I think you’d be the perfect match for my ex-husband. He loved to sleep with multiple people.”

“I’m not coming home, don’t look for me.”

“Time was always a measurement of this relationship and we finally ran out.”

“Please don’t look at me with such hatred.”

“I could’ve died and you couldn’t have cared less.”

“Just get out. I- I don’t want you here, just leave.”

“You’re not the same person I married, don’t tell me I’m wrong.”

“I wish you wouldn’t beg for forgiveness, it has the opposite effect of what you want.”

“Don’t hate me for this. You would’ve done the same.”

“This could’ve been the end and you were ready to let me go.”

“You should’ve left me, you could never deserve the person I’ve become.”

“Hate me all you want. I know I’m right.”

“Today you broke my arm, I hope tomorrow it’s not my heart.”

“Nothing can justify this, you’ve ruined him.”

“You live with so much guilt, I hope it drives you mad one of these days.”

“My life was ruined because of one mistake. You were that mistake.”

“You are everything I hate, don’t ever come back.”

“Evil doesn’t come close.”

“Your wrongdoings are becoming your pastimes.”

“I wish you had of just done it for the thrill of it, but now you’re in deep shit.”

“Next time, I won’t be here to salvage your wreckage. This is the last time.”

“You should have ruined me when you had the chance.”

“No one will keep your name alive. Once you’re gone, everything you once stood for disappears too.”

“Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about your life without me.”

“This is always how it ends.”

“Break my heart once more, I dare you.”

“Forget how you loved me once, I mean nothing now.”

“This isn’t Romeo and Juliet, this is real life and I can go on without you.”

“You don’t own me, I don’t belong to you.”

“I should’ve died. That would’ve made you happy.”

“Are we going to carry on like this or are you going to give him back to me.”

“She drowned and he lost his mind.”

“We shouldn’t. You’re married and I’m pregnant.”

“You’ve never been loved, I can tell.”

“Who told you I needed fixing and what made you believe them?”

“You’re almost as far-gone as I am.”

“Maybe it’s best that we don’t go home.”

“Roaming the streets was never safe for her. What makes you think it’s different for you?”

“I think you’re going to ruin me. Am I right?”

“Do you remember our last feud? I wouldn’t want someone to lose their life again, would you?”

“Kiss me quick and leave them be.”

“I hate seeing you so sad. It’s just so dramatic how humans show emotions and being sad is such a boring one.”

“Will you ever forget my number? No? Ah, because you still love me.”

“After the funeral, let’s surrender.”

“What made you think I cared for you?”

“It’ll be fun explaining this to your sister. I hope she likes horror stories.”

“Don’t act as if we’re friends. I know how much you want to slit my throat.”

“Let’s not get angry. Let’s calmly and sensibly take this outside so I can ruin your face.”

“Please ruin yourself for me and I’ll watch in adoration as I fall apart as well.”

Fluff Prompts

“I missed being with you like this,”

“I’ve been excited to see you all day.”

“You’re my perfect match,”

“No one else can compare to your loveliness,”

“The way you smile like that always turns me on,”

“Can I at least shut the door before you decide to pounce on me the moment I come home,”

“I know you said you didn’t want to be late, but you look amazing, and I’m trying not to kiss you senseless right now,”

“I’ll keep you warm. Hold me closer.”

“Kiss me again, like you mean it.”

“Can I have a message?”

“Truth or Dare?” “Dare”

“Move away if you don’t want this kiss.”

“If you keep kissing my face like that I’ll have to retaliate.”

“Are you my secret admirer, the one that’s been sending me all the flowers and notes?”

“Does this kiss tickle~? Haha. Why are you laughing so much?”

“You’re supposed to be washing my hair, but this feels more like a massage.”

“Hold my hand tight. I’ll protect you.”

“When do you think help will come?” “Not for a while, I guess we’re stranded here alone for the time being.”

“Can you pretend to be my partner for my friend’s wedding? I told them I’d have a plus one.”

“I’m in love with you.” “Are you finally confessing to me? Because I feel the same way.”

“Apparently all our friends have a bet going that we end up together.”

"I want you back."

"You need to stop calling me that."

"You did not just boop me."

"You lost me in a crowd once!" "It's not my fault you're so short!"

"We should get a puppy."

“Hurry up! It has eight legs and therefore will crawl faster than normal!"

"Kiss me." "Not with that morning breath."

"So, will you marry me?"

"How'd you do that?" "Magic."

"It's my happy juice."

"You did not just mimic me."

"I'm on my period and I want chocolate. Now go."

"I left you for five minutes."

"Tell me why I deal with you again?"

"Kiss it better. Please.”

Smut Prompts

“Try to stay quiet for me. Can you do that?”

“Spread your legs. I want to feel how turned on I made you.”

“You can add another finger. I’m ready,”

“I want to watch you take off your clothes.”

“You’re so turned on already? That was fast,”

“Lay back and touch yourself. I want to watch.”

“You want to do this right now? Even though we could get caught?”

“You’re nipples are so sensitive today,”

“Do you want to continue this in the shower?”

“You look so beautiful tied up to my bed,”

“I want you to be rough with me, please leave marks on my skin,”

“Say my name,” “Louder,”

“You say you want me, but your body seems to like it when I tease you,”

“Call me ‘Sir’ when we’re alone like this,”

“No, I’m the one that’s supposed to be making you feel good,”

“Don’t stop, whatever you do. I like that, a lot.”

“I love hearing you moan,”

“Blindfolds heighten your senses, maybe that’s why you’re whimpering louder than usual.”

“I was wondering how long you two were going to make out like that before you realize you weren’t alone.”

“Sorry, did that hurt?” “No, I’m just a little sore from last night.”

“I want to hear you beg for it.”

“I’m not wearing any panties,”

“I want to kiss every inch of your body before I fuck you,”

“I don’t have the patience to remove your clothes right now,”

“Your pussy tastes so sweet,”

“I can’t wait until we’re alone. There are so many things I want to do to you right now.”

“Bite me,” “Where?”

“Were you just touching yourself?”

“What do you want for breakfast?” “Why are you asking me that at 10 o’clock at night-OH.”

“The game is, either of us is only allowed to touch the other with their mouth.”

“I love how your body loses control when you cum.”

“Fuck me like a starved animal or leave.”

“Spank me,”

“Show me how you like to be touched.”

“Harder, Deeper…”

“I want to fulfill that fantasy you’ve always wanted.”

[akindofmagictoo]

manuscript search tag game

from @diphthongsfordays :D thanks!

my words are picture, run, stand, drink, cold

picture (Hurricane)

Theo conceded the point, though he had little evidence on which to put his argument anyway. Concession was the only real option available. “I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry.” As an afterthought, just in case, he added, “Ma’am.”

“Thank you,” she said, deadpan. “Maybe I won’t throw you overboard.”

His face must have been a picture, because she laughed so hard she snorted. “That was a joke, landlubber. I just said we’re not going to throw you overboard!” She perched herself once more on the edge of the crow’s nest and stretched, rolling her shoulders and back. “So, Theodore, since you’re not a sailor, how’d you end up floating in the middle of nowhere on a plank of wood?” 

run + cold (Dragonsong) (tw swearing, death mention)

“Robin,” said Isi quietly, trying to head him off before he said something he might regret. “I think what SB is trying to say is that there are positives to being powerful. Surely explosions and the like aren’t the only thing your power can be used for.” It was a new perspective for her, too. All her life she’d been taught magic was evil, and well… she’d seen what had happened in Sector Three. But Robin had made the fire that was currently keeping them nice and warm. Without it they’d all be soaking wet and, most likely, freezing cold.

Robin fell silent, staring into the twisting flames. The light gleamed off tear tracks on his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around himself. 

“It’s part of you whether you like it or not,” said SB. “You’re only going to have a worse time if you hate yourself for it.” He gestured aimlessly with his stump. “Shit happens. You’re still a mage. You can’t run away from it, and why would you want to?”

With the toe of his good foot, Robin nudged a log at the edge of the fire. It fell sideways, sending up a shower of sparks. “Mages killed my parents. That’s what they told me.”

stand (Dragonsong) (sadness time)

“So why did we bother?” said Robin. “If they were just gonna come back the second we left?”

He almost had a point. Isi swallowed. This particular fight had ultimately made little difference. She’d become a knight to change things, not to stand by while injustice ran rampant. But it seemed she hadn’t managed to change anything for that town.

But if she had decided back in that tavern that the whole thing was pointless… if she’d stood by and just let it happen, what would it make her? What would that say about who she was?

drink (Hurricane) (tw alcohol, gambling) (whoops more sadness)

Three rounds in, they had a decent pile of winnings in front of them and Aella had drunk just enough to feel a pleasant buzz. Her hand looked set to add to their pile of winnings. She grinned. Right now, life was good. As she examined her cards, she felt eyes on her back.

For the most part, the tavern goers were either very intent on their drinks, or passed out. Franco wasn’t looking in her direction, and most of the Hurricane women were distracted too. Sequoia caught her gaze and waved, but it hadn’t been her watching Aella before. So who was it?

She looked to the window. Despite the darkness outside, Theo was clearly visible at the edge of the pane. His eyes locked onto hers for a brief second, then he turned away.

We don’t even know each other. Leave him be.

I will tag @zmwrites @ashen-crest and @vellichor-virgo! your words are frame, cover, bottle, wrap

[toomanyrobins]

MINIMAL LOSS

summary: Spencer and Y/N head into the Separtarian Sect and are greeted with trouble.

pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

content warnings: few swear words, guns, character death, violence, cult behavior

word count: 3.7k

It had been a few months since Y/N had joined the BAU. Despite initial worries, she fit right into the team. She had joined the women for girls’ night and even helped Garcia plan JJ’s baby shower. Hotch was truly showing how much trust he held by sending the two youngest teammates on their own assignment. Y/N and Spencer were in a car in La Plata with Nancy, a CPS worker, on their way to Liberty Ranch. Spencer played the call for the three of them: “He comes into my bedroom and lays with me. He says it's god's will. I'm only 15. And I'm not the only one. Please help me!” 

Y/N turned to Nancy, “Who is the ‘he’?”

“I believe the ‘he’ that they referred to is the church's leader: Benjamin Cyrus.”

Reid flipped open the file and leaned forward so that Y/N could look at it too. She smiled appreciatively at him, “Benjamin Cyrus--No criminal record. No record at all, really. What else do you know about him?

Nancy shrugged, “It's rumored that he's practicing polygamy and forced marriages.

Y/N scanned the file as Spencer read aloud, “Do we know who the caller is?”

“Jessica Evanson is the one who the age fits, But...we can't be sure. I negotiated interviews with all the children. It wasn't easy.”

“Well, considering their view on outsiders, it would be best if you didn't identify us as FBI. Just use our real names and introduce us as child victim interview experts.” Y/N and Reid left their badges and gun in the car. The trio pulled up and was greeted by a single man lounging on the stairs. He seemed unimpressed by their presence and continued to read his book. Y/N noted that the act seemed a bit over the top and a definite attempt to appear nonchalant about their visit.

Nancy walked up to him, “I'm looking for Mr. Benjamin Cyrus.”

The man walked down the stairs, shutting the Bible in his hands, “You found him.”

“I'm Nancy Lunde. We spoke on the phone regarding the allegation.”

“Savages they call us because our manners differ from theirs.”

“We didn't come here to hear you cite scripture, Mr. Cyrus.

“Actually, It's a Benjamin Franklin.” Y/N smiled softly at the ever fact-driven Dr. Reid.

Nancy motioned at the two of them, “Y/N Emard and Spencer Reid -- they’re child victim

interview experts.”

“How far from God's word must we have strayed for there to be the need to invent a job called child victim interview expert?”

“We wish we didn't have to be here,” Y/N said.

So do we. But you are welcome, nonetheless. The children are in the school,” He pointed to the building behind him.

Nancy nodded and thanked him. The two women forged ahead, but Y/N stopped when she heard Spencer remark on the compound’s use of solar power.

“We're completely self-sufficient,” Cyrus explained, “Electricity, food, water. Ben Franklin said, ‘God helps those that help themselves.’ You look surprised.” Y/N noticed that Spencer was working to build a relationship with Cyrus and followed Nancy to begin interviews. They decide to start Jessica: the suspected victim. Y/N immediately noted the defensive posture that the 15-year-old held. Her mother, Kathy, stood beside her and looked much more submissive.

“So, what does a normal day on the ranch look like for you?” Y/N inquired.

“We go to school. We do our chores. And we treat ourselves and each other with the respect that God demands.”

“But you've never been off of the ranch?

Kathy spoke, “I brought Jessie here when she was 2.”

The young girl had a very sour look on her face and had her hands folded tightly in anger, “You've talked to lots of children in your work. Tell me, are their lives somehow better than ours? We devote ourselves to God.” Kathy put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder to calm her.

Y/N reassured the teen, “We are not here because of your religious beliefs.”

“Then why are you here?”

“We received a phone call alleging that an adult male member of your church was having inappropriate relations with the younger women here.”

“You're talking about Cyrus.”

Reid had joined them and heard the last bit of the conversation, “What makes you say that?”

Kathy tried to stop her daughter, but the indignation was clear. “Is it inappropriate for a husband to share a bed with his wife?

Y/N was shocked, “You are married to Cyrus?”

“Yes. Cyrus is my husband and a prophet. It's an honor to bear his children.

“Jessica, you're 15 years old. The state of Colorado requires parental consent.”

Y/N stared at Kathy and saw the regret in her eyes. She looked up at Reid, “She gave consent.”

Before they could continue to question, they were interrupted by members of the ranch coming in armed. They forced the three outsiders back and pointed their weapons at them. ”What's going on?” Nancy demanded. Three men came over and patted them all down. Y/N dug her heel into the man’s toe when she felt him linger. He groaned and stepped back with a scowl, nodding to Cyrus to confirm that all three were weapon-free.

“We just got a very strange phone call from a news reporter. Is there anything you want to tell me about a raid, maybe?” All three of them were shocked. Especially Y/n and Spencer since they knew that JJ had checked with other agencies before sending them in. Cyrus shook his head, “They don't know.” The men shepherded the woman and children through tunnels hidden under the buildings to a bunker filled with weapons. Gunfire could be heard overhead as instructions were given by Cyrus. 

Y/N and Spencer both saw how the guns lining the walls. She whispered, “Where did all these guns come from?”

Spencer shook his head, “I don't know. Garcia checked with the state police.” Nancy broke free of the group in the bunker and hurried up the church, thinking she could stop the raid from continuing. They heard the gunfire cease and he whispered again, “The raid is over.”

“What does that mean?”

“Either Cyrus convinced them to leave or this is over a lot faster than we thought.” When the men returned back down, Y/N realized that they were stuck in the compound again. Spencer inquired into where Nancy had gone and Cyrus explained that she had been shot by the Colorado authorities. 

“They’re pulling out.”

Reid shook his head, “Not for long.” They were stuck in the bunker while the male members of the cult all armed themselves. 

Y/N leaned over, “The team will have to be on its way now that a failed raid will be on the news. 

“With an average flight time of five and a half hours between DC and the La Plata County Airport plus the half hour drive out to the ranch, I estimate that they’ll be here by 4 o’clock, maybe 4:30 depending on who drives.” Y/N and Reid stayed trapped in the bunker, covered by an armed member at the door.

Y/N needed grounding and turned to Spencer, “What is the playbook here?”

“If the BAU is put in charge, which I imagine they will be because we are inside, they will go for the minimal loss situation. Statistically, it is improbable that they will get every member out, so they will do their best to save as many as possible. With the indoctrination in cults like this, some will be too far gone. It will be impossible to convince them that what they have been following is a lie. They’ll first try to get out 1 or 2, then 3 or 4, and then as many as possible before it goes bad,” Spencer stopped talking and looked confused, “You haven’t told me to stop rambling.”

“Why would I tell you to stop? This is valuable information,” Y/N’s cheeks warmed, “Plus you have a nice voice. We are going to be here a while until someone gets in contact with Cyrus. Best to be informed and it seems that you’re a wealth of information, Dr. Reid.” 

Despite the situation, Spencer smiled and continued talking quietly to Y/N about the tactics used. She asked him questions and let him answer them with as much information as he had. Y/N had seen him get cut off by the others before, and she understood why they did it, but she realized he probably didn’t get to share to his heart’s content often and currently they had a minimum 6 hours of waiting ahead of them. That plan was cut short by Cyrus coming back down. He brought them all up to the church. The duo were off to the side, watching as Rossi came in carrying a box. He was patted down and Cyrus spoke to him. Y/N and Spencer were both careful to keep any hint of recognition off of their face, knowing that even a twinge of weakness could seal their fates. 

Rossi let his eyes pass over the duo, before turning to Cryus, “I’d hope you let me take the children.”

“Nah, they’re our protection. I remember Waco... we all do. They stay for now. While I pray for God’s guidance. Please don’t try to force us out.”

“No one’s gonna try to force you out of here.” The two men walked to the door and Rossi left again. 

The moment he was out the door, Cyrus ordered a member to prepare wine, “We are celebrating. Everyone drinks. Everyone rejoices. Because today we are one day closer to being with him.”

Y/N watched a scene unfold in front of her and brushed her hand against Spencer’s to get his attention, “Look at Jessica’s body language. The way she looks at him. She literally worships him.”

Spencer nodded, “There is no way she made that 911 call.”

They both watched as Kathy stood up to speak to her daughter, “Look how she comes between Cyrus and her daughter. She's inserted herself between them. I don’t think Kathy is as devout a follower as she wants people to believe. Cyrus isn’t the most important thing to her; Jessica is.” Spencer squeezed her hand in silent agreement. 

Cyrus began preaching from the front as all the followers drank the wine, “Acknowledge him in all things and he will guide your way. Drink to acknowledge him and I will guide our way. We will be with him soon. We drank the poison together. Mothers… Fathers… Children, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil, for thou art with us.”

Y/N eyes widened and she looked up at Spencer, “What do we do?”

He shook his head, “Nothing.”

“We have to do something. These people just took poison.”

“Cyrus just told them they did. I think he's just bluffing. Just after he told them about the poison, he waited for them to start to react. Then, he nodded to Cole and he started writing. They're scanning the audience looking for reactions. They're writing down the names of the people who are crying.

Realization hit Y/N, “It's a loyalty list. So he knows who will follow him to the end.”

Cyrus spoke again, “Be still. There was no poison. Instead a test of faith. Because your adversary, the devil, waltzes about as a roaring lion, choosing whom he may devour. Watch each other for signs of weakness. You are your brother's keeper.”

After the test, they forced Y/N and Spencer back into the bunker. A guard again stationed by the door. It wasn’t long before Cyrus came back into the bunker, anger written across his face, “Which one of you is it? Which one of you is an FBI agent?”

Spencer and Y/N shared a look. “Why do you think one of us is an FBI agent?

“God will forgive me for what I must do.”

Spencer kept his face confused and innocent, “I--I don't know what you're talking about.”

Cyrus cocked a gun and pointed it at Spencer’s forehead. “One of you does. Who is it?”

Y/N knew that Spencer had built a rapport with the sect leader. She took a deep breath, “Me. It's me.”

Spencer looked at her worriedly as Cyrus uncocked the weapon. He flew forward and grabbed Y/N by her hair, dragging her into another room, “I told you not to put me in this position!” She tried to stand, but he backhanded her. She got up again, staring determinedly at him. This time, Cyrus threw her into the wall. Y/N crashed into a mirror and felt the shards cut her arms and face. He continued to preach while beating her, “Proverbs 20:30 tells us blows and wounds cleanse away evil.

Y/N remembered what Reid had said about the FBI trying to find a way to listen in, she had to stop them from coming in, “I can take it.” Cyrus thought she was antagonizing him and hit harder. She repeated herself, “I can take it.” Y/N hoped that the team understood that she could handle this fight and not blow the operation by trying to save her.

“Pride comes before the fall,” Cyrus punched her in the stomach and threw her to the floor. Y/N lay on the floor, trying to catch her breath after the last kick to her stomach knocked the wind out of her. He called for another man to come in, “Tie her up. Put her upstairs.

Kathy snuck into the room they had trapped Y/N in. She had brought a small first aid kit and cleaned the blood away from her face and removed bits of glass, “You should have told Cyrus who you were. He's a prophet. He predicted Satan's armies would come and lay siege to us.

Every inch of Y/N’s body hurt, but she knew she couldn’t give up. She looked at Kathy, “There's a name for that kind of prophecy-- self-fulfilling.”

“You don't know how dangerous It is to lie to him.”

“I know it would take a brave woman to defy him, Knowing the consequences. And that woman would have to have a damn good reason to do it. Kathy sucked in air when she realized that Y/N had suspicions about who made the 911 call that had led to them coming to the compound. She left the room and Y/N let her head fall back against the pillows, hoping that she was getting to the woman. 

She tried to track how long had passed but when the sun set, she had no measure of time. It hadn’t been long before the door to the room flew open and the same man who had tied her up entered. He roughly dragged her up and cut the rope binding her wrist. He kept his weapon trained on her and forced her into the church, where everyone else was. 

Cyrus stood at the altar, “It has come to my attention that some of our brothers and sisters have lost their faith in God. That they no longer love us. They want to abandon us. So when I call out your name, please stand.”

Spencer came up to her. She kept her eyes trained on the sect leader, “He looks pissed.” She turned to him and smiled softly when she saw the worry in his eyes, “Spencer, it's not as bad as it looks. I’ve had worse.”

“I'm so sorry,” Spencer scanned over Y/N’s body, taking in every injury inflicted by Cyrus. Moments like this, he hated his eidetic memory; knowing he would never forget the beating Y/N took to protect him. Their attention was drawn back to the members, 

“Look at who he's releasing. It's the ones who failed the loyalty test. I'll get word to the team. Wait for a sign from outside to indicate what time the raid will come.” Spencer walked away from her to speak to Cyrus. He turned and nodded to her, before she was dragged back up the room. Her arms were tied again and she was thrown on the bed. 

Y/N nodded off for a few hours, but had woken up when the sun had started to rise, cursing herself for falling asleep. Y/N situated herself on the bed and used her shoe to pull the blinds down. She knew that the glass needed to vibrate in order for them to hear her, “If you can hear me, I know you're coming. I can try to get the women and children down to the tunnel, but I need to know when you're coming.” She continued to repeat herself, when a red dot shone on the opposite wall, “Ok. Ok. I got you. What time?” The dot held steady for a moment and then moved 90 degrees. “3 a.m.?” The dot moved up and down confirming, “Understood. Reid is on the first floor somewhere with Cyrus. And, please, remember there are children here.” Y/N heard someone coming and dropped her foot, letting the blind close again.

Kathy came back into Y/N’s room. She helped her sit up and gave her a glass of water. This was Y/N’s last chance to convince Kathy to held, “Cyrus is planning a mass suicide. You made that 911 call.”

The woman shook her head regretfully, “This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I hadn't of made that call.

“You were trying to protect your daughter. No one would fault you for that”

“There were other girls before Jessie. He--he would marry them in secret, and after a while he'd take another. And we weren't permitted to speak of it. So, when she asked for my consent, I wanted to just take her and run. But I was afraid she wouldn't leave him.”

“You wanted us to take her.”

“Well, I--I wanted to save her from Cyrus.”

“I can give you another chance. The FBI is coming here at 3 a.m. I need you to gather Jessica, the kids, the other women -- get them into the basement just before 3 a.m.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I have faith that you are a strong enough woman to do the right thing for Jessica.” Kathy stood and walked out of the room without another word. Y/N was left with the hope that she had gotten through to the woman. 

Only a few moments later, Kathy came back. She helped Y/N sit up and removed the bindings from her wrists, “You were right. They're setting the place to blow up. I told Jessie that Cyrus wanted her to gather the women and children.”

Y/N’s thoughts were on Spencer, “Where is the man I came in with?”

“He's in the chapel with Cyrus. It's 2:45, though, we gotta hurry.” Y/N and Kathy rushed to get the women and children down to the basement, careful to avoid any of the armed men. 

Once they got to the basement, Derek and Rossi were waiting for them. He rushed up to her, “Y/N, Y/N, you all right?

“Worry about me later, Derek. They've wired explosives.” Kathy and the agents rushed everyone out of the compound. 

“Where's Reid?”

“He's in the chapel with Cyrus.”

Rossi turned to her, “We gotta get you out of here.

“No. We've gotta get Reid!

Derek grabbed her shoulders, “I will get Reid. Get out of here. Get to safety. Go now.” Y/N nodded and followed after the rest of the members. She stayed watching the building as the other continued to run. Y/N had to know that Spencer was okay. The church exploded and Y/N fell to the ground, covering her head. Once the smoke cleared, she stood up, “Reid! Morgan? Reid? Morgan!”

“We're ok!” Derek called.

Spencer ran up to her and wrapped her in a hug, “Are you okay?” She nodded and he put his arm around her, helping her to walk to get medical attention. Only once he was certain she was getting help did he leave.

Y/N sat in the back of an ambulance as the paramedic pulled shards of glass from her arms, and bandaged and disinfected the cuts on her face. JJ came over to check on her, “How bad is it?”

“Everything is sore, but the worst is cuts from the mirror he slammed me into. They said I don’t even need to go to the hospital.”

“Take it easy and don’t move until one of us comes to help you. Understand?”

Y/N smiled, “You’re already such a mom, JJ.” The blonde laughed and sat next to her, one hand on her belly.  The rest of the night passed quickly and soon the team was on the jet back to DC. Y/N sat next to Spencer on the couch, “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Y/N gently pulled the book out of his hands and put her hand in his, forcing him to put all of his attention on her, “I need you to listen to me. What Cyrus did to me is not your fault. It was my decision, and I would do it again. Do you hear me?” Spencer nodded. Y/N smiled at him and handed him his book back. She tucked her feet under the blanket and put her head on his shoulder, exhaustion weighing her eyelids down. Spencer read to her, remembering what she said about his voice, until he was sure she was asleep. The team all shared looks at the familiarity between the youngest teammates and smiled.

When they landed, Spencer offered to drive her home. The duo ended up at Y/N’s apartment. They ordered Chinese food and Y/N let him turn on Star Trek and explain all of the science and how it was ahead of its time. By the end of the night, Y/N had her legs slung across his lap and a frozen pea bag on her bruised face. She fell asleep sometime during the fourth episode. Spencer turned the TV off and covered her with a blanket. He quickly put the leftovers and peas away, and even laid out some Advil and water on the coffee with a note for when she woke up. 

Y/N,

You fell asleep and I decided you need your sleep. I put the food away and the peas back in the freezer. Take the Advil when you wake up. You’re going to need it. Text me when you wake up and I’ll pick you up. You shouldn’t drive until you’ve healed.

Dr. Spencer Reid

[azucanela]

Ahh i'm glad you write for them, thank you so much for answering my question :) may i ask for Dabi, Shigaraki and Toga headcanons w/ a female reader that likes to sing but is kinda shy about it? and like one time they catch her singing and are just speechless because her voice is so beautiful? Thank you so much :)

HEARING THEIR SHY S/O SING[HEADCANNONS]

[ft. dabi, shigaraki tomura, and toga himiko]

SUMMARY: in which Y/N can sing but nobody else knew that, until they did, and let me tell you they were SHOCKED.

WORD COUNT: 1.6k

WARNINGS: implications of death, implications of nsfw, almost nudity bc towels, embarrassment, dabi being a perv, blood, injuries

A/N: this concept makes me happy lol, dabi’s is my favorite kjsahkjfshdkjh anyways ofc bb thank you for requesting! this is adorable :D

DABI

in all honesty, you’re probably singing in the shower and dabi is super nosy and has zero shame, so he kinda just comes into the bathroom while you are showering, like a perv

he hears you singing in the shower because he randomly shows up to your apartment, and he kinda just listens from outside for a hot minute because WOW, there is no one else it could be, unless you lived with a ghost who took 30 minute showers just like you did

he sincerely doubted this was the case

he’s vibing tbh, after he collects himself, he’ll kinda just take a seat on the toilet with a small smile on his face, and you won’t hear him unless he decides to sing along just to give you a heart attack

probably realizes that the reason he didn’t already know you have the voice of a literal angel is because of the fact that you’re a shy bb, and he’s gonna savor this while it lasts

he will tease you though, when you come out of the shower, grabbing your towel and then opening the shower curtain to him just sitting there, dopey smile on his face

“hey doll.”

you curse him out, cheeks warming, you lowkey forgot that you have no clothes on as you cuss him out, and he APPRECIATES the sight before him

you being angry is a TURN O N, angry and naked? even better

i think you know where this about to go

anyways as you curse him out for invading your privacy, you do be feeling EMBARRASSED because you were singing your heart out in there and he was just listENING

the audacity.

“you’re a really good singer, babe.”

Now you are more embarrassed and it suddenly dawns on you that you are not wearing clothes, just a towel to cover your body, and you are glaring at this mans because what the-

“what were you even thinking?!”

“that i would listen to my beautiful girlfriends equally beautiful voice.”

the type to ask you to sing for him, he has no shame like i said, will randomly say, “i like this song, think you could sing for me?”

you’re shy and like nO

he’s like, “come on babe, a private session ;)”

yeah he really likes this whole singing thing and will hype you up, but subtly, like hes constantly complimenting your singing voice because it really is just super pretty and he wants you to know this so that you’ll sing more

already comes to your home randomly, but this will increase in frequency because he really wants to hear you sing more AND catch you singing in the shower

LOWKEY

REALLY REALLY LOWKEY

LIKE R E A L L Y LOWKEY

i can see him asking you to sing him to sleep, it reminds him of his childhood because he finds comfort in your voice, and this would be the only time he’s shy about it

you’re just like WHAT internally, because if you express your shock externally he IS going to retreat back into himself and you will have lost your chance at a emotionally available Dabi

my type is emotionally unavailable people sigh

SHIGARAKI TOMURA

most confused award goes to this mans

you’re probably just singing along to your music as you clean your room, he told you he was dropping by, hence the cleaning, you are also dancing because why not vibe

he opens the door, you don’t hear him with your earbuds in, and he kinda just freezes at the door because thats your voice 

your actual voice

he listens for a bit because it sounds pretty and he likes it, he’s really confused, but he likes it, and you

tbh this is a really domestic moment and tomura is really shocked that he’s enjoying leaning up against your doorway as you treat the broom in hand as a mic and belt out some nice lyrics

kinda hates that he likes it

they you turn around after finishing the song with a dramatic little ending, and open your eyes to see your lovely emotionally constipated boyfriend standing there, albeit uncomfortably, his arms are awkwardly crossed and he’s squirming under your gaze

“so... is that your quirk?” genuinely thinks you are such a good singer that it is your QUIRK to be a literal ANGEL

you’re too mortified to answer because shyness, mouth gaping open as you grapple for words and you feel your entire body heat up in embarrassment. You genuinely are contemplating jumping onto your bed and screaming into your pillow before suffocating yourself with it.

“how long have you been standing tHeRe?” your voice cracks and you lowkey wanna cry because WHAT EVEN IS THIS DAY

he kinda shrugs, “few minutes.” he’d mumble and then look up at you, he is equally nervous at this point, “you have a nice voice.”

“thank you,,,,”

he’s too awkward to ask you to sing for him, but he would try and encourage you to sing, because he really does want to hear you again, he just can’t find a way to ask you

literally this is stressing him out, just start singing randomly and he’ll appreciate it so much, don’t make him ask p l e a s e

he is definitely gonna start stopping by randomly way more often, in hopes of catching you singing once more, because thats just an experience he wants to happen again

would probably bring it up that you have a pretty voice to other league members in hopes that they’ll bully you into singing so that he doesn’t have to

sometimes he wishes he didn’t tell them though because he kinda just wants to keep you and your talent for himself

isn’t the best at hyping you up, especially not outright, definitely the most awkward of the three, but he’s going to try, purely because he thinks that if he boosts your confidence enough then he’ll hear you sing more and he won’t have to outright ask you to sing for him because that would be painful for the both of you

“you know... you sing good.”

“thank you...?”

“this is a nice song.”

“yeah,”

“sing it.”

sounds really demanding but he’s trying his hardest okay. 

understands if you don’t want to sing in front of others due to your shyness, he’s awkward too, so as long as you sing for him its chill

he likes the intimacy of the moments when you sing for him and him alone, it just makes him happy to have that, especially since you are shy about singing.

TOGA HIMIKO

oh knife wife, love of my life, 

that rhymes

toga is probably the most outwardly supportive of you and your singing endeavors, bbg is gonna be so happy when she finds out you can sing, unlike the other boys she won’t have time to savor it because she will immediately start talking about it

probably breaking into your home through your window because she needs medical assistance and cannot tell if the blood on her belongs to someone else or not, you are her go to because hospitals are a no no for a villain such as herself

she sees you through the window, and she can kinda hear you singing as you cook in your kitchen, though you aren’t that visible and the window blocks out most of the noise.

genuinely contemplates breaking the window so that she can hear you better because it already sounds so pretty??? how??? why didn’t she know about this, why didn’t you tell her?

the audacity honestly what are you doing

she opens the window with class instead, effectively breaking into your home, but you don’t hear her as she closes it and re-locks the window

she’s gonna be speechless for a hot minute, now that she hears your voice clearly, she’s beginning to wonder if the blood is hers and shes dead, because you have a voice that belongs in the heavens literally what-

wondering how she didn’t know about this as she bursts into your kitchen covered with blood, “Y/N BABY YOU CAN SING?”

you nearly drop the knife in your hand and cut your foot off at the sight of your bloody girlfriend like, for several reasons

one. how the hell did she get into your apartment. two, why is she covered in so much blood???? three. she heard you singing. oh god she head you singing. time to panic and die

you kinda freeze and your mouth gapes open because you are so confused and panicked right now as your hands begin to gesture vividly while you search for words, trying to avoid her gaze and questions as your face heats up

this shock and panic distracts you from the fact that she broke into your house covered in blood as you respond, “i mean anyone can sing-”

“you sing GOOD.”

brags about you being such a good singer ALL THE TIME, literally how she introduces you to people, much to your dismay

will ask you to sing for her with no shame, unlike dabi she isn’t even going to shut down if you say no or find it weird, she’s just gonna keep asking until you agree to do it

would not be opposed to falling asleep to your similar voice, in fact, your voice is one of few things that calms her down

she’s literally just so excited about the fact that you can sing, like WOW, the whole league is gonna know so fast, she’s just 

SO HAPPY

she’s literally going to be hyping you up 24/7 like even if the conversation has nothing to do with it, she’s going to tell you how amazing you are and try to help you overcome your shyness because your talent must be SHARED WITH THE WORLD

just a super supportive gf at the end of the day we love toga

A/N: the vibes are immaculate, sing for your evil lover, that is the point here

[unknownthebook]

Summary: (Series inspired by Vanessa's song: Not So Bad a Dad.)

This is the same story as Down the Hall parts 1 and 2 but from Heinz's perspective. It can be read as a stand-alone.

Heinz wakes up to find that Perry has done nice things for him and his daughter.

(Now has a comic, drawn by Kim-Kiwi! <3)

Heinz Doofenshmirtz was beyond excited when he got his very own OWCA issued Nemesis.

He’d been through so much: abuse, neglect, abandonment. Things had been good when his precious baby girl was born; but then Charlene handed him the divorce papers.

Heinz was fine with the divorce, things weren’t working between them, and he didn’t want to subject his little ray of happiness to parent arguments, but it also meant he was alone again. He only got Vanessa for half of the time.

This Nemesis-ship would be a new start. OWCA’s agent would become someone he would see regularly. Sure, they’d be trying to hurt each other, but maybe it didn’t have to be like that all the time. Maybe the agent would listen to him.

That’s what he’s hoping for, someone to listen.

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

When Heinz formally meets Secret Agent Perry-the-Platypus he thinks he is a little stiff and quiet, but otherwise, he is sure they can make this work. He just has to help the agent warm up to him.

He tries some comfier traps, he offers him food, and he remains patient with Perry’s refusals. He thinks this is going well, he just needs to make sure he doesn’t mess up.

That’s why he stays up so late to work on evil schemes. Perry-the-Platypus is only here because Heinz has been bumped up to a High-level threat. If he loses that status, he’ll lose the agent that he’s worked so hard to have a chance with.

Heinz wakes up early to work on his -inator, spends the day on their routine, and works late into the night, planning to do it all again with new gadgets. He repeats this process several times.

That’s why exhaustion catches up to him mid-monologue, and he collapses.

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

It’s nighttime when Heinz wakes up. He’s on the couch with a blanket covering him, and there’s a light rain shower going on outside. He’s comfortable, but he has no clue what happened.

Vanessa!

Heinz shoots up off the couch. If it’s nighttime, then his little girl has spent the whole day without him! Had she been frightened? Had she eaten? Oh Gott, he’s neglected her!

He bounds down the hallway to find her bedroom door closed. When he opens the door, he finds her asleep.

It’s late. He should leave her be. But what if she’d been scared? What if she’s furious? What if she’s starving?

Heinz approaches the bed and gently shakes Vanessa awake.

“Vanessa, my little doonkleberry, did you eat?” He tries to whisper through the fear.

“Mmm, w’at? Ye’h, your agent fed me. Lemme sleep.” She rolls back over and snuggles into the blankets.

She’s so cute—wait what? Who did what now? Completely dumbfounded, he exits her room and closes the door. He stands there in silence, trying to come to terms with what she said.

This is going to end up like the American movie, The Hangover. He needs to piece together what happened.

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

Heinz heads back out to the living room.

He remembers giving a monologue over there for his T.V. Glare-inator, then he must have passed out. Heinz notices a note taped to the unscathed T.V. Glare-inator. It reads:

Try again tomorrow. Go sleep.

-Perry the Platypus

The words may sound brash to an outsider, but this is the first time his Nemesis has ever communicated with words. Heinz is ecstatic. On top of that, he’s heard that OWCA agents are supposed to thwart and run; if Perry-the-Platypus has left this for tomorrow, it means that he’s trusted Heinz enough to leave the -inator fully intact for the night!

Well, that or he thought he’d sleep through the night. Either way, it puts a little pep in Heinz’s step. His Nemesis cared enough to leave a note.

Heinz practically bounces into the kitchen. He’s going to look around for evidence pointing to what Vanessa said. It isn’t that he disbelieves his little girl, he’s just curious.

He finds an empty bowl in the sink with little bits of lettuce on the sides. Lettuce? He’s certain he doesn’t have lettuce. He goes to his fridge to check. There’s a shopping bag in his fridge with leftover salad ingredients.

No way. No. He wanted Perry to warm up to him, but this is more than he’d ever expected. His new Nemesis had gone to the store to get food for his baby.

Certainly, he did it for her though—which is good! It’s just a little shocking. A smile warms its way onto his face, his cheeks hurt from the width of it.

He re-enters the living room and spots a note he hadn’t noticed before on the coffee table. It’s a note from Perry addressed to Vanessa, and it reveals that Perry was the one who placed him on the couch.

It feels like Christmas morning right now. Today alone his OWCA agent has taken care of him, communicated with him, trusted him, and above all else, put the needs of his daughter first.

As Heinz treads down the hall to get some sleep, he realizes he doesn’t need to worry anymore. He can tell that this is the beginning of a beautiful Nemesis-ship.

[gwen-of-myth]

Horribly Wrong, Bad, Terrible Choices (But I Don’t Regret a Thing): Chapter One

Stiles is a mess. His sleep schedule would line up with a neurotic bat, his diet consists of mainly Cheetos, and if he doesn’t have a caffeinated beverage every twelve hours he gets shaky. And his eye starts twitching so people thinks hes crazy. At this point he might as well be, he thinks.

Something has to change. He’s taking the most college classes he can a quarter and working full time to help support it since his dad can’t help him with college.

He’s sympathetic, because he knows John’s financial issues come from hospital bills. Stiles would never blame John for that. So much money went into trying to save his mom’s life... She received the best care money could buy, but at the expense of, well. A lot of money.

The process was agonizing for both him and his dad. Lots of late nights and alcohol were the new norm for John, and a lot of the time Stiles stayed at a friends house. Usually it was Scott.

At the same time, if you can’t ask your only parent for money, what can you do? Work, of course, and he’s trying, he really is! But to keep his scholarship afloat requires so much of him.

He’s running out of ideas and his mid term is due in two days and he doesn’t even have a thesis and—he’s overwhelmed. Panic attack time.

The pack is meeting tonight, and Stiles almost cancels. He has to study but at the same time he hasn’t seen Scott or anyone in nearly a month. He even misses Derek’s grumpy face. When his heart aches for a moment after pausing to think about studying, he’s made up his mind.

He’s going.

When he shows up to the loft, everyone else is already there and setting up. They’re watching bad werewolf movies and eating pizza. Free food sounds wonderful to Stiles, having only had a granola bar that morning, so he piles a few slices on his plate, accidentally making eye contact with Peter when he does.

Peter isn’t smirking, which is odd to Stiles. There isn’t really amusement on his face; rather, there’s a concern that makes Stiles’s stomach turn a bit. No one has looked at him like that in a while. Maybe not for years.

It makes him shiver, and he looks away quick, almost dropping his plate with how hard he turns his head. Stiles’s ears burn as he turns and walks away, sitting on the floor at the edge of the gathering.

He eats ravenously, and sighs when he realizes he forgot to get a drink. Before he even has a chance to get up, there’s a tap on his shoulder. He looks behind him and sees Peter sitting close (closer than Stiles knew) and is holding a glass of ice water expectedly.

“Drink.”

Stiles licks his cracked lips a bit before nodding and taking the glass. He flushes a bit before taking a sip, then a gulp before he chugs it empty.

“Good,” Peter murmurs, low and rumbling.

The pat on the shoulder he gets after warms him like praise, addictive and consuming—but the word? The word is everything. He takes an unsteady breath and tries to focus on the tv, the back of his neck burning.

The movie is unendingly predictable and bad, so naturally, he dozes off. For once, he’s full and content, no worries, just cheesy gore and the rest of the pack talking.

It’s a nice nap.

When he wakes it’s with a start. There’s denim on his face, and when he turns, he sees it’s Peter he fell asleep against. He’s looking oddly fond, but Stiles is sleepy enough to write it off. He runs at his face for a minute and yawns.

“Sorry, dude. It’s just, uh. A boring movie.”

Peter quirks an eyebrow.

“Don’t call me dude.”

He rolls his eyes, but before he can snark Peter continues.

“Sweetheart, you’re wearing yourself out. You need to sleep more, and eat more. I could count your ribs through that plaid.”

Stiles scoffs.

“That’s an exaggeration!”

“But only just. I’m worried, Stiles.”

Peter’s serious, he realizes. Or he’s pretending to be. Oh god, what if this is all some sort of evil plan to fatten him up and eat him? But then he looks again and there is an uncharacteristic amount of sympathy and well...maybe he really is worried.

“I’m fine. Just a little stressed,” Stiles mutters, looking at the floor.

Peter doesn’t press anymore, but he does watch Stiles the rest of the night.

After everyone starts leaving, Stiles drowsily gets up off the floor, stumbling a little. A hand drops onto his shoulder. He startles briefly, but it quickly morphs into annoyance.

“It’s like you’re watching my every move tonight. What do you want creeperwolf,” Stiles hisses. He hears a sigh, and for some reason his heart rate picks up. He pushes away the instinct to apologize.

“I want to talk with you. But not here. How about I pick you up tomorrow?”

Stiles bites his lips and chews on it for a second, thinking.

“I’m working tomorrow until ten at night. Why?”

“Time isn’t an issue. I’ll cook you dinner. How about... a risotto with salad and fresh baked bread? I’ll even pick you up.”

Oh god.

“Well...okay, but I’m telling Scott so he knows who poisoned me.”

Peter rolls his eyes.

“Dear boy,” and Stiles blushes, trying to ignore the slant in Peter’s smile growing with the heat in his face, “if I wanted you dead, I would have done it already. Besides, poison is traceable, do I look like a fool?”

Before Stiles can snark anymore about his death, Peter pleads with him.

“You’re pack, Stiles. Please let me help you.”

He nods stiffly, then shivers when Peter brushes his hand against his neck. Scenting. Appeasing his wolf by claiming pack.

“Good boy,” he whispers. Stiles bites his lip to seal the moan that tries to break free.

He leaves quickly after that, avoiding eye contact and has to adjust himself right after he steps outside. He isn’t sure why he agreed to meet Peter. But fuck, does he want to.

When he gets home he showers, almost feeling like he’s doing something wrong when he feels the soapy water slide down his neck. Washing away the claim on him...

Damn, he needs to get laid.

He slides a hand down to his dick anyways though, mind focused so hard on Peter calling him a good boy that before long he’s coming with a choked “D-Daddy”.

He’s so screwed.

Stiles dries off and slips into bed. After a minute of scrolling through his phone, a notification pops up.

Peter: Did you make it home safely?

Stiles: yea. Just showered

Peter: What a shame that is. Although I understand the necessity for hygiene’s sake, I must say that the thought of smelling myself on you is delectable

He gasps. It’s very forward, but... If Peter really is flirting and not just being him, Stiles needs to know. He's so tired, but he knows he--for whatever reason--is very attracted to Peter Hale. So he'll play along with this game.

Stiles: i’m not interested in being some guys fuck toy

Peter: I would never. A boy like you deserves the finer things. Is it wrong to think one of those finer things could be me?

Stiles: how can I trust you though

Peter: Let me show you tomorrow how a boy should be treated

Stiles: wined ‘n dined? Or 69’d?

Peter: Let’s stick with the first for now and see where the evening takes us

They say goodnight, and Stiles stares up at his ceiling wondering if this is all some prank the universe is pulling on him. Being Peter’s boy sounds better than it should right now.

Why does he want this so much now?

[luxekook]

chapter six.

⇥ pairing: ot7 x reader

⇥ genre: college au with fluff, smut & angst

⇥ summary: a series in which the reader meets (and falls for) seven members of the Beta Tau Sigma (BTS) fraternity

⇥ word count: 4.6k (may have gotten a bit *cough* carried away)

⇥ warnings: 18+, cursing, dirty talk, general chaotic energy, poly relationships, switch!reader, jungkook being a lovable idiot, bad driving, taehyung trying (and failing) to catfish the reader, bar bathroom smut, oral (m receiving), light choking

© luxekook. please do not repost, modify, edit or translate.

characters | prologue | one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

Chapter Six

Habitat Worksite – 11:25am

The rest of the morning goes by pretty smoothly much to my surprise. The group that I help Eddie orient is from a pub in the neighboring town. They’re so much nicer than the last scarring group I had to deal with, and they’re actually listening to my directions.

I’m pretty sure I have tears in my eyes as I supervise them cutting plywood like professionals – but that could just be the sawdust.

When I become confident that no one is going to injure themselves with the power saw, I recruit some other volunteers to help me transfer the cut wood inside.

As we walk into the house, I almost drop the plywood onto my foot. Jungkook is shirtless, mixing cement together. When had he even arrived? I stare unabashedly at him – The height. The build. The broad shoulders. The veined forearms. The ridged stomach. The tattoos…

Tay, the middle-aged mother of two helping me, follows my line of vision, “Oh my... please tell me you’re hitting that, darling.”

“Tay!” I hiss, my eyes darting around to see if anyone heard her. Sure enough, Jungkook is looking at us and smirking like he was just crowned king of the fucking universe. “I am not hitting anything, thank you very much.”

She makes a derisive noise, “I might be old, but I'm not blind. He’s looking at you like you’re the best thing since sliced bread.”

Jungkook hands off his mixing duties to Matt and saunters over to us, “Hey, noona. You look nice today. Do you need any help?”

“Not hitting that, my ass,” Tay mutters and shoots me a triumphant look as she walks back outside.

I roll my eyes at her antics and turn to Jungkook, “Hi, Kookie. What happened to your shirt?”

Jungkook blushes, “I may have taken it off, and then it may have fallen into the cement.”

My eyes wander around the room until they fall on a sad lump of fabric and semi-dried cement in the corner. My lips twitch.

“Noona-a,” Jungkook whines, “Don’t laugh!”

My body doubles over, shaking with laughter. Tears stream down my face as I try in vain to catch my breath.

“Is she okay?” I vaguely hear Hobi ask before I feel his hand run soothing circles on my back, “(y/n), are you crying?”

I straighten, wiping my tears, “H-he… cemen-nt… sh-shirt…” My cackles resume.

“She’s lost it, hasn’t she?” Yoongi enters the house with eyebrows raised, “It was only a matter of time. Jungkook has that effect on people.”

“Hyung!” Jungkook punches Yoongi in the arm.

"Am I wrong, Hobi?" Yoongi turns to the other boy, who's hand is still firmly on my back.

Hoseok shoots Yoongi a dirty look, "Don't drag me into this. The last time I tried to argue with the two of you I almost got a concussion."

Jungkook smirks, looking way too pleased to receive such an accusation, "I seem to recall you liking it, Hobi-hyung. What was it you were screaming?"

Yoongi snickers as he leans into Jungkook, effectively teaming up on poor Hobi, "I believe the phrase was 'harder, oh my god, harder!'" He and Jungkook collapse onto each other in fits of laughter as Hoseok turns an amusing shade of magenta.

I turn to face Hobi. "Is that how you like it?" I murmur, tilting my head to stare up at him, "You like it hard? Rough?"

Hobi swallows as his pupils dilate. His hand on my lower back suddenly clenches, crumpling my shirt within his fist. "Yes," his voice comes out deeper than I had ever heard it.

Vaguely, I notice the other two boys have stopped laughing. Good. No one would tease my sweet Hobi in front of me and get away with it.

My decision solidifies. "Well," I say, "Then that's how I'll give it to you."

"No one will be giving anything to anyone until we finish this project," Namjoon's voice booms, breaking up your little moment with Hoseok.

The four of you swing to face him, blinking owlishly.

Namjoon's eyes are shut as he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Jeon Jungkook, for the love of god, where is your shirt?"

An hour later, I found myself stuck in the backseat of Jungkook's black Range Rover. After Hobi, Yoongi, and Jungkook had loudly voiced their opinion in front of the entire worksite that it was their turn to drive me, I had quickly jumped into the car to avoid further humiliation.

Now, I sat wedged in between Hobi and Yoongi who both refused to sit in the front next to Jungkook and also forbade me from doing so. I only agreed because I was not one to miss an opportunity to be pressed up between two hot guys. Sue me.

Glancing down at my thighs, I marvel at the way both of the boys have placed possessive hands on them. "This is so lame," Jungkook complains for the hundredth time as he glances at the three of us in the rearview mirror. "I want to touch noona, too!"

We ignore him.

Yoongi's slim fingers dig in slightly into the softness of my inner thigh, "(y/n)," his hushed words ghost over my neck, "Come home with us?"

"Please," Hobi echoes from my other side. His hand is more brazen in its placement. His pinky just a fraction away from the apex of my thighs.

Perhaps I could close my legs like the proper lady my grandma wanted me to be... but fuck that. I would woman-spread however I damn well please. "Hmm," I pretend to think about it, "No."

"But why?" Hobi pouts, making puppy-dog eyes in my direction, "You said you were going to give it to me."

I shrug, noncommittally, "I never said when."

Jungkook sighs from the driver's seat, "Ah, I love it when noona is evil."

"We fucking know, Jungkook," Yoongi groans, "You only bring it up a thousand times a day."

"Hey!" Jungkook whirls around in his seat, "Stop exposing me, hyung!"

"Eyes on the damn road, JK!" Hobi grips the 'oh shit' bar as the car begins to veer into the bike lane. Jungkook whips back around and quickly rights the car. Meanwhile, Yoongi smirks like the little shit starter he is.

"Looks like I'm not the only evil one here," I roll my eyes, "You're a menace, Min Yoongi."

"Yes, I am," the boy puffs up his chest and grins that gummy smile that he knows makes me melt, "But I'm your menace."

"Ah, gross!"

"Ew!"

Jungkook and Hobi yell as I try not to smile at Yoongi's rare display of cuteness and fail miserably.

"Stop trying to butter me up so that I'll come home with you, Yoongs," I smile and thread my fingers through his.

"Why?" He leans into me, "Is it working?"

"Not at all," I breathe, eyes darting to his lips as his tongue slips out to wet them.

"Liar," Yoongi moves in closer. My eyelids lower in anticipation.

Jungkook slams on the breaks and jolts the three of us forward, "We're here!" Grumbling, I pull my seatbelt away from its death grip on my body.

"Well played, Jungkook, well played," Yoongi comments from beside me.

"Tell that to my fucking neck," Hobi moans as he massages the front of his neck where his seatbelt must have dug in.

"Aw," I take pity on the poor boy and offer half-jokingly, "Want me to kiss it better?"

"YES!" Hobi's hand flies off his neck at the speed of light and thrusts his neck out in my direction.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, he is adorable.

I place the lightest of kisses against the growing pink mark on his skin and revel in the shudder his body emits.

"Bye, Hobi," I place one last kiss on him and slide out of the car, using the door that Yoongi vacated from.

"Bye, angel!" Hobi cries out after me, waving furiously. So damn adorable.

Once I exit the car fully, I am faced with a pouting Jungkook and an annoyed-looking Yoongi.

"What now?" I eye them warily.

Yoongi gives Jungkook a dark look, and the younger boy backs off slightly. Turning back to me, Yoongi steps forward. "Bye, (y/n)," he says lowly, brushing a fallen strand of hair behind my ear. A light dusting of pink floods his cheeks at his own soft actions. I bite the inside of my cheek to contain my innate reaction to shower him with affection.

That time would come later, I'm sure.

"Bye, Yoongi," I press my mouth his cheek, "Keep your menacing ways to a minimum while I'm not around, would you?"

"No promises," Yoongi drawls, before hopping back into the car.

And just like that I'm left with one tall bashful boy.

"Oh, Jungkook..." I walk towards where he is propped up against the front of his car. His lean body slouches against the hood as his left leg props itself up on front tire. He still has yet to put another shirt on.

"I'm sorry, noona," he speaks to the pavement in the tiniest voice, "I got jealous that I wasn't getting to be that close to you."

I lift his chin up with my finger, "Baby, you were the only one who had my nipples in your mouth last night, and you're jealous of them?"

He swallows hard before grinning, "Well, when you put it like that..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I give into the urge to trace the muscles of his stomach. They bunch up under my touch and I smile at his responsiveness. "You know," I continue, "You're going to have to get over this jealousy thing if I do decide to date you all."

"I know, noona," the pout returns, and this time it's paired with a devastating pair of imploring doe eyes. "I just like you. A lot.”

"Well," I smile, "It's a good thing that I also happen to like you. A lot."

"Really?" Jungkook's neck snaps up at an alarming rate, "You do?"

"Yes, you giant idiot," I grip the back of his neck, "Now, kiss me goodbye."

He kisses me. His teeth pull at my bottom lip in a faint bite, and goosebumps spread across my body. I bite him harder in retaliation, but it only seems to urge him closer against me, body hard, warming me everywhere we connect. His fingertips drag down my skin until they reach my waist. His hands slide up under my shirt, and he rests his palms against my skin, fingers splayed down over my hips.

His hold is undeniably possessive. And that would not do.

I lean up and kiss him harder, digging my nails into his back as I tug him against me, feeling every inch of his body respond to my touch. A groan rumbles deep from within his chest.

“Do you think they’re going to come up for air soon?” An amused voice cuts through our make-out session.

Jungkook rips his mouth from mine, “Fuck off, Hobi.”

I open my eyes and blink a couple times before focusing on the smirking faces of Hobi and Yoongi. Their heads are sticking out of the open back window of the Range Rover as they cackle in amusement.

"Hobi," I say sweetly, "Do you need another mark on your neck today?" My hand flexes tauntingly in his direction.

Hoseok's eyes widen, "N-no! Bye again, (y/n)!" He retreats back into the car as Yoongi continues to chuckle before rolling up the window once more.

"You can mark my neck, (y/n)-noona."  Jungkook's voice jolts me from my second thoughts on not going home with them.

This boy really is shameless, I think to myself as I shake my head.

"Maybe next time, Kook," I grin at him, "It'll give you something to look forward to."

"For as long as there are next times with you, noona, I will look forward to them."

My heart swells. "You're such a sweetheart, baby boy." The nickname has its desired effect as Jungkook's cheeks blush and his smile widens.

"I'm baby," he nods.

"Yes, you dork, you are," I place a swift peck to his cheek and head into my apartment before I get any more tempted to jump back in his car and initiate a foursome.

God, what were these boys doing to me?

(Y/n) & Luna’s Apartment – 4:15pm

A few hours later, I am deep in an argument with Luna over who the best Queer Eye guy is when my phone buzzes.

[Unsaved Number] 2 New Messages

Luna notices my confusion. "Who is it?" she asks, leaning over to look at my screen.

"No fucking clue," I reply, swiping open the messages.

[Unsaved Number] 4:15pm: “Hey, babe! It's me! Namjoon!” 4:15pm: “Want to meet at Hannigan's tonight? Just the two of us!?”

"What the everliving fuck?" My eyebrows rise at the completely obvious way that someone was poorly attempting to impersonate Namjoon.

"That's how Namjoon texts?" Luna sits back, "What a letdown."

"I don't think this is even Namjoon," I mutter and save the contact before swiping over to SnapChat. "Let's see if I have this person's Snap."

"Oh, your mind!" Luna exclaims, running to go grab a bag of pretzels from our tiny kitchen adjacent to our also tiny living room, "That is some top sleuthing right there."

"Why thank you, my good sir," I nod at her playfully before focusing back on my screen. Opening the 'Add Friends' tab, my eyes immediately hone in on the imposter.

"Oh, that little shit," I cry, chucking my phone onto the other end of the couch.

"What? Who is it?" Pretzel crumbs spew out of Luna's mouth as she ambles over to where I had just thrown my phone. She picks it up, turns it over, and lets out a long whistle. "Oh, fuck. What are you going to do?"

Luna hands my phone back to me, and I reopen the messages to respond.

Me 4:21pm: "Hi, Namjoon. I'll meet you there." 4:21pm: "9pm."

It'S mE! nAmJoOn! 4:22pm: “Yay! It's a date!” 4:22pm: “See you at 9!!!”

"Well," I lock my phone and set it down on the coffee table, "It looks I’ll finally get the chance to teach Kim Taehyung a lesson."

Luna springs up from the couch, "I'm calling Jenni. Let's do this."

Hannigan’s - 9:09pm

I'm nervous with anticipation.

Why?

Oh, that’s right – motherfucking Kim Taehyung thought he could pull one over me by impersonating Namjoon, and, so far, he's nowhere to be found.

I grasp my beer tightly as I slouch lower on my barstool. Since arriving about twenty minutes ago, I had set up camp in the corner of the bar. Luna and Jenni had immediately ditched me upon arrival, claiming that they were meeting friends.

I would have believed them if I hadn’t noticed that they just relocated to a table within vision of me and were scouring the room for any signs of Taehyung. I pull out my phone and once again debate texting him.

Fuck it. I'm just about to construct a text when my phone pings with messages from the group chat:

Bee Gang 9:10pm, Luna: “HE'S HERE” 9:10pm, Jenni: “HE LOOKS SOOOO GOOD KSKSKS” 9:11pm, Luna: “HOLY SHIT I THINK HE JUST SAW YOU” 9:11pm, Jenni: “TAEHYUNG IS LOOKING AT YOU LIKE YOU'RE THE HOTTEST THING HE'S EVER SEEN. HE'S GONNA FUCK YOUR SHIT UP I’D BET GOOD MONEY!!!” 9:11pm, Luna: “NAH DUDE *SHE* IS GONNA FUCK UP *HIS* SHIT” 9:12pm, Jenni: “OMG U RIGHT” 9:12pm, (y/n): “1) YOU BOTH SUCK AT HIDING, 2) NO ONE IS FUCKING ANYONE UP, 3) MAYBE THE SECOND THING IS A LIE”

I lock my phone and place it face down on the bar.

Looking up to see where Taehyung is, I immediately lock eyes on him. He's slowly making his way towards me with people constantly pausing him to chat. Taehyung’s all smiles, but I can tell he is a bit annoyed. That strikes me as odd – I thought he loved the attention?

The boy emerges free from the crowd, and I finally get to take him in.

Damn, he does look so good. His tight white t-shirt emphasizes his toned stomach while his overlying black leather jacket makes his shoulders look a mile wide. My gaze drops lower and take in his black pants with a black belt cinching the waist. I have to fight the urge to grab it and use it to pull him into me.

He’s almost to me when he turns his gaze to the bartender and flicks up two fingers. And just like that two beers and an annoying but hot-as-sin man appear in front of me.

“You don't look surprised to see me,” he says as his greeting, sliding me one of the new beers. He shoots a look at the group of boys occupying the stools next to me and they immediately make themselves scarce.

I arch an eyebrow, “You do realize I had all of your SnapChats to double check the number with, right?”

"God-fucking-damn," Taehyung plops down in the barstool next to mine, "No wonder it was so easy to convince Joon to let me do this." He shakes his head and glances up at me beneath his blue fringe, “You still came? Even though you knew it was me?”

I roll my eyes at his cute actions, "Yes, I figured you had something important to say if you went through all that to get me here."

He blinks, clearly still caught off guard that I wasn't surprised to see him. "I do," His voice cracks and he flushes deliciously, "I mean, yes, I have something to say."

"Okay," I nod and sip from my beer, "So, tell me."

His fingers fiddle with the label on his beer bottle as he begins, "I know I'm not your favorite person... I'm loud. I'm bratty. I know that. But I just have to know if you felt anything that night last semester; because, I did, and I can't stop thinking about it. I know that you probably haven't. It's been killing me to see you with everyone else that I love, and I just need to know if there's a chance you might want to be with me like that, too, and-"

I clamp a hand over his mouth. His eyes snap to mine.

"Baby," I sigh, "Is this what's been making you act out?"

Taehyung's head bobs as he nods swiftly.

"Now, that just won't do," I murmur, my mind whirring as I think of all the times I had thought he wanted to annoy me when all he really wanted was my attention.

"Listen," I continue, pulling my hand from his mouth, "I don't know where you got those ideas stuck in your head from, but they're wrong. I do think about that night last semester. All the fucking time, Tae. And, yes, you're loud, and you have a tendency to be a brat... But, it only makes me more interested."

Taehyung's eyes burn into mine as I lean closer, "It only makes me want to teach you some discipline."

I watch as Taehyung’s knuckles go white as he clenches his beer. Concerned that the glass might shatter in his grip and hurt him, I slowly place my hand over his, “Relax, baby.”

"You can't just say things like that, noona!" Taehyung moans, shifting in his seat.

"And why not?" I tease as he takes a long sip of his beer with his head tilted back and his throat muscles moving in a way that made me want to do bad things.

I blink, "You know what? Forget it. Let's just start over, okay?"

Taehyung bites his lip, “Okay, sure.” He gestures to the bartender for another round, “Let’s play a game.”

My response is automatic. “Alright, Jigsaw. What kind of game?”

“Just a nice harmless game of ‘Never Have I Ever’, (y/n). Nothing untoward, I promise.”

My eyes narrow at his way-too-innocent smile and his archaic use of ‘untoward’. “Fine,” I arch an eyebrow, “But I have a few stipulations.”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t, noona,” he scoots his stool closer to me, “Lay ‘em on me.”

Oh, I will, my inner hoe responds.

Out loud, I reply, “The game can be stopped at any time, and you have to explain your answers if the other person asks.”

“Done,” he grins, “Never have I ever gotten my nipples pierced.”

“That’s targeting!” I exclaim indignantly, “You’ve seen them, you prick.”

“I haven't tasted them. At least, not yet,” his eyes squint at my boobs which are currently well-covered by a jean jacket. “Jungkook has… That fucker,” he mumbles under his breath.

These boys and their jealousy... I shake my head. How had they managed to stay in a relationship with all of this possessiveness they clearly had going on? It's truly a mystery.

"My turn," I grin, "Never have I ever dyed my hair blue."

"This is really more of a teal-ish green, noona!" Taehyung tries to argue, and I scoff.

"Fine," he relents and mumbles under his breath, "Should have brought my paint swatches." After taking a sip of his drink, he switches gears, “Never have I ever wanted to date a frat boy?”

I sip my drink. He immediately demands clarification. I grin, “Those EXO boys are fine.”

His jaw clenches. Ooh, he does not like that answer.

“EXO?” he snarls, "Over my dead body."

My eyebrow quirks up, “Well, that's a bit dramatic. They seem like nice boys.”

"Nice boys?" Taehyung cocks his head, "Noona, those aren't your type."

He's right. I push him further, “And what is my type then, Tae?”

“Boys that challenge you.”

He’s right again, but I’d rather not give him the satisfaction of knowing it. His ego is already inflated enough. I smile inwardly and say, “You think you have me all figured out, Kim.”

Taehyung surprises me as he breaks into a loud laugh, “No, not even close. But I’m a persistent boy so maybe I’ll get there one day.”

Just then I realize how close to one another we’ve gotten. Our sides are touching, and his hand has apparently been gripping my thigh for who knows how long. I stare at it, examining the adorning rings on his pointer and index fingers.

Are those fucking Gucci?

He must notice my gaze on his hand because he squeezes my thigh, and I smily at him. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

Taehyung looks at me like I’m something precious, something divine. I want to shatter that image. I want to ruin it. I want to ruin him.

“Taehyung?”

“Yes, noona?”

“Kiss me.” And he does.

Taehyung kisses me over and over. I’m honestly a bit overwhelmed it. His mouth is tender on mine, and with every exhale, he lets out the slightest moan, which almost seems like a plea for more.

He’s gentler than I remember. His mouth is warm and soft; his caresses are leisurely and unhurried.

I pull back slightly to look him in his eyes. They are dazed, unfocused.

My lips brush his ear as I whisper, “Be a good boy and meet me in the bathroom in two minutes.”

With that, I saunter away towards the back bathroom which usually tends to be cleaner due to its slightly hidden nature.

Knocking on the door, I strain my ears for any sign of a reply. Nothing. I enter the dim room and immediately catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

My hair is everywhere, and I immediately grab the hair-tie around my wrist.

I pause, a sinful idea coming to mind.

A knock sounds. “Noona?” A deep voice calls, and I open the door, grab Tae by the collar, and tug him inside.

“Noona, you’re feisty tonight I-” I cut him off with my mouth.

I don’t hesitate as my mouth consumes his and my body presses him against the wall. My tongue finds his as my hips grind into him. He whimpers, and it’s such a beautiful sound.

After feeling him throb through his clothes, the thought I had earlier returns.

Stepping back, I grab my hair-tie and tug my hair up into a ponytail. Taehyung whines as I slowly sink to my knees before him, “Jesus, fuck.”

“Is this okay?” I question, gazing up at the beautiful boy above me, “Do you want my mouth, baby?”

“Shit, yeah,” Taehyung wraps my ponytail in his hand and lightly pulls me closer.

Does he think he’s suddenly in charge?

I flick open his belt before tugging his pants down. His cock strains against his silky black boxers and I give into the temptation to suck on it through the fabric.

“F-fuck, please, noona,” the stuttered curse comes from above, and I smile.

I pull his boxers down, grasping his cock and stroking lightly.

And, without warning, I take the head of his cock in my mouth and suck. “Goddamn,” Tae hisses, fingers sliding into my hair. He pulls my hair-tie out and replaces its hold with his fist.

I take him as far as I can, blowing him and stroking the parts of his cock I can’t get to with my mouth.

“Shit, fuck, please,” he begs, looking down at me with wild eyes and a fucked out expression, “Don’t stop, (y/n).”

Stop? Never. The power trip is too delicious.

My mouth bobs on his cock as he bucks, trying to fuck my mouth. My hands grab his ass to control his movements as I slide my mouth off of him.

“Do you want to come in my mouth, baby?” I tilt my head to the side as one of my hands resumes its ministrations.

“Y-yes,” The boy gasps above me, his breath coming in pants, “Please, I’m so close, noona.”

“Hmm, are you going to be my good boy, Taehyung-ie?” My hand halts, and he whines, his hips straining to keep moving in my hand. I squeeze him, “Well?”

“Yes!” He moans, repeating, “I’m your good boy. I’m noona’s good boy.”

“That’s what I thought.” My mouth closes around his cock again and sucks him hard.

“Fuck.” I watch enraptured as Taehyung’s head falls back against the wall, and then he’s coming.

His body convulses above me as I swallow ever last bit of him. After he finishes, I pull my mouth away to kiss the underside of his cock, his balls, the insides of his thighs. Above me, he’s muttering my name like a prayer.

“You can let go of my hair now, Tae,” I laugh, my voice slightly hoarse. Reaching up, I lightly tug his hold from me and slide my discarded hair-tie off of his wrist. Standing, I pull my hair up into a messy bun and turn to face him.

He’s tugging his pants up and staring at me with a darkening expression, his nostrils flared. “Let me taste you, noona. Ride my face.” The tenor of his voice washes over me, tempting me with its rough words.

“You haven’t earned that yet.” I start towards the door, but Taehyung darts in front of it, effectively cutting me off.

“I just want to please you, babe. Come on,” his begging only solidifies my resolve.

“You already have pleased me, Tae,” I swipe a thumb across his cheek as he pouts.

“But I could please you even more with my mouth!”

This boy. I grab his neck lightly, “Listen, baby, I’m going to say this once. When I ride your face, you’ll be tied up across my bed at my mercy. Got it?”

His body becomes pliant under my words and my light grip. I gently shift him out of the way of the exit. “Now, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon, my good boy.”

The parting smile I send him is absolutely lethal, and it only grows bigger when I hear him blurt out a grumbled “holy fuck” as I strut away from him.

a/n: yeeeeeee things are really heating up *fans self* hope y’all liked it!! ALSO, s/o to tay aka @loveejoon for being featured UWU

taglist: @catsandstrawberries @h5naaa @meowmeowyoongles @leftflowerprunedonut @rjsmochii @athletes-of-god @karissassirak @cage7241 @weallhavesecretsinthebestway @cvbachacbitch @honeyspillings @valiantcollectorofsandwiches @fivesecondsofsarang @oii-f-eli-x2 @joonsroses @theevilyouknow @jooniescupcakes @expensive-grl @i-dont-even-know-fck @doingmybestalltheftime @elraeee @fangirling-all-the-way-tbh @laced-brds @aokay1010 @breeeeh17 @lpayne612 @peachyharmoney @rilakoya @chulchuchi @tabula-rasa0 @guccishookv @nomimits7 @i-like-puppy-mg @s-noir @anna-sorel @im-a-space-child @yeontanismypresident @drowning-in-oxygen @team-wang-puppy @lvvegood @anongirl007 @may114 @r-e-d-i-s-h @unatempesta-dipensieri @dragon-rider-with-a-book @blueberrygeniejam @wondrsblog @heterophobez @vi-hoshi @kirbykook @blu-butterfly69 @katemwatson @kawaiikpoplover268 @amsteramyy @sami4life @a-feeling-of-euphoria @the-jackals @bubbletae7 @platinum-grenade @bunnyboyenthusiast @brightly-byun @oofmeintheheadpls @sadboibts @lidda @goldenwidow3 @t-mel19 @lmkjimin @psiphidragon @jeon-joker @sathom013 @lustremyg @ggsmashgg @justyouraveragerandomblog @shadowstark @our-little-meow-meow @baby-hobii @toddsgirl27 @mythicalmeep @asifetch7 @kassandravictoria @eltrain80 @briannasthings @quotedcryptid @bumblekey93 @ohmwreckr @beach-bitch-bitch-beach @softchimmee  @kookoo-kachoo​ @lenuminous​ @ass-hole-in-one​ @peaches-422​ @queen-of--roses​

[tinyboxxtink]

“My Fairy Abogado” *Part 6*

Fair warning, this chapter starts fluffy/sexy and takes a hard left turn, idk a “trigger” word for that. 😐 Tag List

@wanniiieeee

@dumauier

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@objection-argumentative

@word-scribbless

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 7

Your parents shower wasn’t that big, after all it was the Barrio. It was almost like cramming two people in a bathroom stall. 

“Maybe this wasn’t a great idea,” You winced as Rafael’s elbow nearly missed your eye. 

“Well, maybe we can’t go for round two, but I can still pamper you hermosa,” He lathered shampoo in his hands and began massaging your scalp. It was like he had magic fingers, the way they moved all around your head, hitting pleasure spots you were unaware you even had. 

“Mmmmm,” You purred. The head massage with the warm water, all of your stress just melted away. You weren’t thinking of the kids, or the restaurant, or even the Diablos. It was just you and Rafael, here in this moment. 

“Now rinse,” Rafael instructed, and you obliged. As the water cascaded over your face, he began massaging your shoulders with soft kisses mixed in. 

“You’re killin me smalls,” You groaned with a laugh.

There was zero way you were having sex in this shower without someone breaking something. Still, it was too enticing. You turned to face him, lathering shampoo in your own hands and rubbing it into his hair gently, pulling him in to kiss you as you did so. Pretty soon you could feel his erection against your naked thigh. 

“How’s your upper body strength?” You asked devilishly.

“It’s...adequate,” Rafael saw the wheels turning in your head.

“Well then I better work fast,” You grabbed him into a hard kiss and jumped into his arms, pushing him inside you. 

“Mmmph!”  He knew what was coming, but it still took him aback as he tried to distribute your weight in his arms without slipping and killing you both. However once he got a rhythm going, the feeling was intoxicating. He bounced you up and down while you had your legs tightly wrapped around him like a tree. 

“Are you almost there baby? I really oversold myself here,” He grunted, making you giggle. 

“Aw honey, is the arthritis kicking in?” You teased him, pulling on his hair as you bounced.

“Ha ha,” He couldn’t even come with a witty comeback, he was at capacity all around. 

“Alright alright, let mama help,” You balanced on him with one hand, as your other reached down and went inside you, between his ball sack and your clit. You started rubbing it around as hard as you could, encouraging completion from the both of you. You must have done a hell of a job, because one moment you heard you both moaning in pleasure, and the next you were waking up on the floor of the shower, Rafael still inside you.

“Fucking Christ! What happened?” You couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdness of this whole thing.

“Shit, fuck are you ok Y/N?” Rafael pulled out of you and frantically searched your body for injuries. 

“Yeah...I think I bumped my head,” 

“Yeah I um...we both...and I dropped you,” He turned bright red, making you laugh harder.

“It’s not that funny,” He grumbled, helping you to your feet.

“Aww, baby I know, I know,” You giggled as you rinsed the suds that were all over him. 

“Are you sure you’re ok? That was a pretty hard thump on the head,” He searched your eyes for dilation, making sure you didn’t have a concussion. 

“Trust me, my hard head can handle a lot,” You assured him. 

“Okay, good. Now no more shenanigans, I can’t end up in the hospital over sexcapades,” He chuckled as he finished cleaning himself. 

“Oh yeah, what would the people say?!” You feigned shock.

“They’d say that’s still pretty tame to some of the other government officials' dirty deeds,” He chuckled as you rinsed off and went to grab some towels off the rack. 

“Oooh scandalous,” You giggled, turning off the water and handing him one of the towels. You both dried yourselves off, then stopped to look at your reflections in the mirror.

“Well, this is one image I never expected to see in this mirror,” You smirked, reaching and ruffling Rafael’s hair. As you turned to face him you wrapped your arms around his neck. 

 “Yeah this is a whole 180 from kicking me out of your place,” He smirked. 

“I didn’t kick you out! You were already outside!” 

“Semantics,” He rolled his eyes as he walked over to his clothes and began to put them on.

“So you really, never thought--?” You perched yourself at the foot of the bed, still wrapped in your towel.

“In the middle of you screaming at me? No, I can’t say that it did,” He chuckled.

“I’m really sorry about that,” 

“Don’t be,” He kissed your forehead. “It’s far behind us,” You smiled and pecked him on the lips.

“Speaking of,” He glanced at his phone. “I am FAR BEHIND schedule, I better go. I still have to go home and get into abogado mode,” He chuckled as he grabbed his leather jacket and walked out of the room into the hall. You trailed behind in your towel, down the stairs and to the back door where he paused and held you for a moment. 

“I hate to say it, but next time you see me…” 

“You’ll be abogado Rafael Barba, not Rafa,” you finished with a sad smile; you rolled the R as he did the night before. 

“Yeah…” He played with your hands in his, looking sadly at the floor.

“Well it’s good we got that out of our systems then,” You half smiled, making his head jerk up. 

“....Seriously?” He asked with so much hurt in his voice. 

“I was feeling you out, guapo,” You pushed his shoulder playfully as he let out a sigh of relief. 

“But seriously, that’s gonna have to last us for a while,” You stroked his cheek. “I can’t have the kids thinking…” 

“I know,” he put a hand over yours on his face. “I can’t have people talking either,” 

“But as SOON as my parents are home--” You batted your eyes. 

“Oh it’s on, mi amor,” He pulled you in for another kiss, you smiled into his lips. 

“Alright, well have Mr. Barba call me later, yeah?” You chuckled as he mounted his bike. 

“He will definitely be in touch, Miss Y/N,” He winked before driving out of the alley way and down the street. 

You leaned against the doorway, drinking in the whole night/morning. You were so lost in happiness, you didn’t notice the shadow figure emerging from down the alley.

“Hola, Y/N,” Diego’s voice startled you so bad you almost dropped your towel.

“D-Diego,” You whispered, unsure what to do. 

“I knew it, the abogado wanted him some nice chicano ass, those boring gringa Barbies ain’t shit,” He chuckled. 

“That’s NOT--” 

“No you know what it’s not? It’s not okay for you to disrespect me like this,” He shook his head. 

“Ay, mami. I tried to be nice, I really did. I gave you a nice warning and everything,” He put hand to your cheek but you jerked it away. 

“You leave us alone, Diego,” You summoned all the courage you had to stand up against him. 

“Ohhhh, kitty’s got claws now!” He laughed harder. “That’s cute,” 

“Rafael already put one of you away, he could finish the job,” You got way too cocky for your own good. Diego got in your face, his hands almost around your throat.

“Or I could finish him, puta!” He growled.

 “Rafa thinks he’s chico grande because he climbed up out of here, and yet look at this, he’s still slumming it,” He nodded at you with an evil smirk. “I think he needs to be reminded who still runs this place,” 

And that was it. You didn’t remember anything else until you heard Mari screaming at you. 

“Y/N!!!! Oh my God… Y/N!!! Are you ok? Please wake up, please wake up…” She was shaking you. It took you a moment to return to consciousness, but as your brain started to wake up, so did the pain. 

“Ow…” You muttered. Mari let out a breath of relief as she threw her hands around your neck and pulled you up. 

“What the fuck happened?!” 

“Diego…” You muttered, still not quite able to form full sentences. 

“Diego? Why would Diego beat the shit out of you?”

“Rafa…” You mumbled back, walking over to the mirror of your backroom. Your hair was disheveled, gravel all tangled in it. Your face was black and blue, your lip was bleeding. You removed your towel to asses the damage to your body. Black and blue bruises were forming on your rib cage. It was obvious once Diego had punched you out he literally kicked the shit out of you. 

“Jesus Christ...we should get you to a hospital,” Mari came up behind you with tears in her eyes as she saw just how badly you were hurt.

“No!” You spun around to face her. “That is the LAST thing we need to do,” You hobbled up your stairs. 

“Seriously, Y/N? Look at you, you can barely walk!”

“I’m fine,” You walked back into your parent’s bedroom, Mari trailed right behind you. You winced in pain as you sat on the bed. You looked over to the spot where you and Rafael had just been together hours before; how did it go from that to this?

“Wow, it looks like you had sex in here....” Mari trailed off, looking at you. “OH MY GOD,” 

“Can you not yell, please?” You held your ear in pain.

“That’s why Diego came after you! Rafael was here, wasn’t he?” Mari was starting to get angry.

“Maybe…”

“Oh that son of a bitch,” Mari started pacing angrily. “I can’t believe he let him do that shit to you!”

“He didn’t,” You winced more as you tried getting dressed. “He left, and then Diego jumped me,” 

“Where’s your phone? That pendejo is getting a piece of my mind--” Mari started going for your phone on the dresser.

“NO,” You grabbed it before she could. “If you call Rafa, he’ll just come right back down here and he can’t deal with all of...this,” You gestured to your bruised body.  “He has a job, he doesn’t have time to worry about me,” 

“He did this to you!”

“I did this to myself, Mari,” You sighed. “He came over last night and I should’ve told him to leave-- but I didn’t,” Tears stung your eyes as you spoke. 

“And now the universe is severely punishing me for it,” You threw your hands up. “I should’ve known not to fly close to the sun-- I got burned,” 

“And then some,” Mari looked at you sadly. “Well, obviously you can’t see him again,” 

“Obviously,”  You sighed, doing your best to keep a brave face. “Can you...Would you go downstairs and open for me? I need a minute,” 

“Absolutely babe, you take as long as you need,” Mari nodded and gave you a hug as she left and closed the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, you couldn’t hold it in anymore. You collapsed onto the bed in sobs; pathetic, loud, carnal sobs. 

How could it end like this?

[brywrites]

Flight Risk IV

Summary: An answer to the age old CM question, “who’s flying the plane?” And the story of a pilot and a profiler. Part IV: In which airplane food is disappointing and the context of a case is heavy.

( Series Masterlist ) ( Previous  |  Next )

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Arthur stands waiting for her outside the jet stairs. “So you’re on speaking terms again?”

She freezes, hands still lifted in the middle of adjusting her cap. “What do you mean?”

Arthur gives half a shrug and begins climbing up into the plane. He’s not one to pry into the lives of other people, but she’s discovered he does make occasional exceptions to this rule. “Simply that you seem much happier to be around Dr. Reid today. Your scowl is gone.”

Her face flushes and she’s grateful he can’t see it as they file into the cockpit. “We talked, yes. I think we’ve reached an understanding.”

Arthur gives a noncommittal, mmmm, and gets to work adjusting Geff’s controls. She does the same, going through routine checks, only to be interrupted by a quiet, “Just be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Y/N blinks, then looks down quickly. She doesn’t ask him to elaborate; Captain Dobson isn’t one for sentimental attachments or expressions. The fact that he’s saying this at all speaks volumes. It makes her happy, to know he considers her someone close. The BAU is obviously close-knit, she’s heard them refer to themselves more than once as a “family.” But the two of them, bound by similar schedules and shared challenges, they’re something of that sort too. Perhaps that makes them distant cousins of the FBI.

The team boards the plane, they’re cleared for takeoff, and it’s all smooth flying and blue skies for a solid three hours. They’re both tired, and the thought of being able to go home and sleep in her own comfortable bed lifts her spirits – until the cockpit door slides open and Agent Rossi steps in.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he says. “We just got word of a case in Houston. Two previous victims and now there’s a kid missing.”

A kid. Oh, god. Rossi looks genuinely apologetic, but Arthur nods.

“We’ll change course immediately.” Rossi murmurs a thank you, then slides the door closed once more, muffling the voices of the other agents, already discussing the case behind them.

Y/N follows all orders, gets in touch with the air traffic controller, telling Indianapolis Center that they’ll be changing directions and heading for Houston. Other than exchanges with ATC and instructions to shift speeds and change controls, they fly in silence. It’s a heavy quiet, weighed both by an acknowledgement that somewhere, something horrible has happened, as well as the fact that they won’t be going home tonight.

It’s harder for Arthur, he has a boyfriend to go home to, people who need him. She has less attachments, but has no desire to spend more time in a small motel once again. Still, things could be worse. It’s important work.

“I think we’ve still got lunches prepared that I could heat up,” she offers. “What do you want – the chicken or the pasta?”

“Pasta,” he replies, without missing a beat.

“You always take the pasta.”

“I’m the captain. When your epaulets have four stripes, you can claim it first.”

“I don’t know why we even bother with the chicken,” she grumbles. “We both hate airplane meat.”

“You know the rules. We can’t have the same meal.”

Y/N carefully clambers to the sliding door. “I know. But honestly, how many planes have gone down as a result of the food?”

“There have been some close calls. Japan Air, 1975, omelets. Overseas National, 1982, tapioca. British Airways, 1984, hors d’oeuvres.” She rolls her eyes, but begrudgingly goes to fetch the saran-wrapped meals. Slipping out of the cockpit, she catches bits and pieces of conversation as the team begins to work. The previous victims were a little older, most in their early and mid-twenties. All women with blonde hair.

“But Caroline Chapman is only twelve,” Morgan adds. “Though she fits the physical type.” Twelve years old. Her stomach turns, and it has nothing to do with the plane. She swallows hard and grabs the meals from the warm tray, hurrying back to the cockpit before she can hear anything else.

Their world is so different from hers. Their work is so heavy. Sometimes, in the silence of the flight, she pretends she’s a commercial pilot, bringing passengers somewhere cheerful. Maybe part of the crew on one of those Make-A-Wish flights.

The pilots eat in silence, then Arthur, sensing she needs a distraction, begins one of their infamous verbal games.

“Fortunately,” begins Arthur, thinking it over, “I’m taking a vacation in Seattle.”

“Unfortunately,” she counters, “climate change has turned Seattle to a frozen wasteland.”

“Fortunately, I’m an Iditarod champion and getting around won’t be an issue.”

“Unfortunately, the number of confused squirrels on the snow is distracting the sled dogs.”

Back and forth they continue, trying to create the most complicated situation until one of them has no counterpoint, or says something so absolutely outlandish they must concede. Sometimes their games can carry on for almost an hour; depending on which one they’re playing. This one finally ends when Arthur claims he’s saved up enough vacation time, and she rebuttals that the BAU has called in an emergency and he has to come fly the plane.

“Ah,” says Arthur, “fortunately Seattle is a frozen wasteland and no planes can take off.”

Y/N admits defeat. They sit in silence, cloud rushing past them. Then she says, “They’re only twelve.”

“I heard,” he says, starting straight ahead at the sky. She shifts in her seat, searching for the words to explain how she’s feeling. Arthur adds, “You can’t think about it too much. That’s their job.”

That’s all he has to say. A few hours later, they touch down just outside of Houston, and the agents file off to SUVs. She and Arthur prepare Geff for his overnight stay at the little airport they’ve landed at, before going off to the hotel. It’s been a long day, and they end up staying at the same one as the team. After a nap, she takes a long hot shower, and they order takeout, exhausted from the long flight.

Dinner arrives at nearly 8 pm; Arthur takes his to his room, and she makes herself comfortable in the lobby. Wet hair thrown up in a bun, a sweatshirt and leggings. That’s the nice thing about traveling. Nobody knows her. She can be anyone in a new city, only to disappear a few days later and leave only faint traces of herself. The sun has nearly disappeared outside the lobby window, when half of the team comes in, looking entirely drained. They head off in different directions, and she’s pleasantly surprised when Reid goes not to his room, but to join her on the hotel lobby couch. Y/N tries not to look too excited.

“You look tired,” she remarks. Holds out the container of pad thai and chopsticks. “Have you eaten yet?”

He politely refuses. “I have, thanks. Besides, I don’t know how to use chopsticks.”

“What? We’re going to have to fix this.” Her joking smile shrinks to one of hesitancy when she asks, “How are you doing?”

Reid shrugs, runs his hand through his long hair. It seems the more stressed he is, the messier it gets, and something makes her want to sit him down and brush her fingers through it until he looks calm.

“We’ve got enough for a partial profile, but that’s it. We still don’t have – I mean, we still can’t find the girl.”

Arthur explicitly warned her not to get involved, not to think about it. And yet, she asks, “So… what does that mean?” She knows enough to realize it’s not good.

Reid purses his lips. “The first hour is the most important. When a stranger abducts a child, it doesn’t always mean they’ll be killed. But of the children who are, almost half die within the first hour. Nearly all of them are killed within the first twenty-four, and we just passed that mark. Hotch, JJ, and Rossi are still out looking, with the CARD team. In five hours, they’ll come back and I’ll go out with Morgan and Kate.”

Kate Callahan is the newest member of their team, a short woman with dark hair and no time for anyone’s crap. She likes the way they look out for each other, making sure they have a chance to rest. But twenty-four hours, it’s such a short timespan. Gone too soon already. What does that mean for Caroline Chapman?

“Are you okay?” Reid asks, tilting his head. His voice is gentle, making it easy to admit to him what she hates to admit to herself.

“This job – it’s different for us, you know? As pilots,” she says. “You’re trained for this. It’s what you know you’ll be doing, going off to fight evil and save lives. I never thought I’d be involved with that. I mean, I like this job, don’t get me wrong. But I love flying. And lately, every time I get a call from work, my heart breaks because I know the only reason I’m going up in the air is because something terrible has happened to someone, and I just don’t know how to reconcile that. Every time I get into that plane, every time we get Geff off the ground, we’re taking you all to danger, and I only get to do what I love because someone else has suffered a tragedy.”

It’s so complicated, to have her great love for the sky tangled up in this mess she feels when the phone rings. It’s fear and it’s anxiety and it’s sorrow – grief for people she will never even meet. And flying back can be just as difficult. A case closing may mean a happy ending, but it also might mean that a victim is dead, or that an unsub – she’s picked up their lingo – is dead. Either way, there has almost always been some sort of loss. Perhaps in the form of innocence or hope or comfort. She can see it when they board before heading home. This job takes things from them. Will a day come when they have nothing left?

“I know it might sound selfish, but it’s just hard for me to understand. And you,” she adds. “I’m always so happy to see you and talk to you, but that only happens when there’s a case. I feel like I shouldn’t feel that way, not when someone’s life is on the line.”

Does it make sense to him? She hopes it does, because otherwise it’s going to sound so self-centered. Of course his job is more emotionally taxing. Of course she’d rather be a pilot than a profiler. But it hurts her heart each time she hears there’s a case. She grieves for them too. And she worries for the team, her team, their team.

He must understand though, because he places one hand over hers, just long enough for her to understand it’s meant as a comforting gesture, and not purely accidental. Reid doesn’t touch many people, she never sees him shake hands with anyone he doesn’t know. Crossing that barrier is a big deal, and that’s what leaves her all the more surprised.

“It’s okay,” he tells her. “It’s okay to feel whatever you feel – about this job, or a case. You don’t have to disconnect from things or stop being affected by them. But you also don’t have to feel guilty about liking your work. You shouldn’t – you’re a great pilot, and a really good person.”

“Thanks, Doctor.”

Reid gives her half a smile, then looks nervously down at the floor. His pulls at his fingers. “You know, maybe we could meet sometime outside of work. That way we can actually talk for a normal amount of time, and we don’t have to worry about anything else.”

“That would be really, really nice.” At that, his smile widens, and she can feel her own mouth mirroring his expression. “Maybe after all this, when we’ve both had enough sleep, we could go get coffee or something? Go to a library?”

Reid’s grin makes his eyes seem less tired, and for a moment it’s so easy to forget the circumstances. “I’d like that.”

[darkorderaf]

shake off your flesh pt. I

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done any fic writing but AEW has me feeling a way. This is the first part of a two-parter I’m doing. Part 2 will be up soon!

Pairing: Evil Uno x OFC (could probably be read as reader insert!!)

Rating: T...for now. :)

Warnings: None yet. :)

Word Count: 4,019

(I don’t own the gif, credit to kennyhoemega!)

It had been an accident. A product of pure frustration and lack of sleep. Between the heat and mishaps, injuries had become more prevalent over the weeks spent at Daily’s Place. She wasn’t even the head doctor, let alone a doctor in the first place, but she was an experienced EMT and that was enough for them. She had finally gotten a chance to sit down after a long day when it had happened.

Or, rather, they happened. Alex Reynolds and John Silver.

“Hey, doc.”

Any other day and she wouldn’t have minded their antics. Hell, she might have even welcomed them. This time however, she rubbed at the bridge of her nose and didn’t turn around. Her feet were sore, her arms were sore. Places she didn’t know she could be sore were just that. It didn’t feel right to complain. She didn’t get in the ring day after day. A drink sounded nice. Maybe if she closed her eyes and counted back from ten, they would go away. She opted to give it a shot.

“Hey, doooooc.”

“You know I’m not a doctor,” she said with a slight frown. “But yes, John? How can I help you?”

She could hear the two men snicker to themselves before they got it together, quietly slapping at one another. Alex spoke up.

“We need a…a signature! From everyone on the medical staff,” he said enthusiastically. “And that’s you. You’re on the medical staff and we just need you to sign it. Soooo, can you sign this?”

She dropped her head into her hands and hunched over in her seat. That was all? She fumbled for the pen in the front pocket of her lilac cardigan and swore as she dropped it. A soul deep sigh left her as she went to bend down and grab it, only for John Silver to meet her halfway. He took her hand in between his and gave her the pen. There was a wide smile on his face and even as agitated as she was, she couldn’t help but return it with a small one of her own.

The Dark Order were...strange at times, she thought, but they had never been malicious to her. In fact, they had been nothing but appreciative to her every time she checked them over. Even Anna Jay and the typically silent Ten. But what surprised her the most out of all of them had been Evil Uno. He took the time to talk with her, ask about her day, or what she thought of things. He had such a presence, a gravitas to him, that her eyes went to him as soon as he entered a room. Even as he did simple things such as wrap his wrists or straighten the paperwork in her office, even after she told him there was no need. The last time she had seen him, they had talked so long that it wasn’t until the Young Bucks collectively cleared their throats that she realized a couple of hours had passed. Uno had held her eyes as he left, much to the confusion of a freshly bruised Matt and Nick Jackson. The look in them had stayed with her well into the night and the cold shower she took in the morning.

It was foolish to think there was anything else to it. It was best to keep things professional as always. She was good at that. He was simply being polite, she told herself. Polite as a cult member could be. No, it wasn't fair to think of them in simple terms like that. Even with a mask and the painted darkness that surrounded them, she could tell he had kind eyes. They were such a stark contrast to what she had seen him do in the ring that it momentarily stunned her the first time she had seen him, chest and hands bloodied as she tended to him.

Alex Reynolds slapping a piece of paper and a container of Kool-Aid powder on her desk snapped her out of her thoughts. She clicked her pen with a sigh. Right. She was supposed to be doing something.

“Fine,” she said as she bent over and found the line that had a purple X next to it. The other signatures seemed strange, she could have sworn one line said Ronald McDonald and another Count Chocula, but she didn’t scrutinize it further. After she signed it, she slid it back over to them with a raised brow. Alex and John stared at each other in disbelief before bursting into loud cheers, high-fiving and chest-bumping one another. A hand went to one cocked hip before she spoke up again. “Is that all? Are you two even actually hurt or are you just jerking me around? It’s been a really long day, okay? Jesus, it’s almost midnight.”

She eyed the watch face on her wrist.

“Oh shit, Mr. Lee is gonna be so happy with us!” John said as he slapped Alex’s chest. “We fucking did it! We finally fucking got someone and it’s you! Oh, this is a good day! I knew my cereal being all oh’s meant something! I told you!”

Alex paused in disbelief.

“Seriously? Those were Cheeri--Oh fuck it, we got someone! Mr. Brodie is going to be fucking thrilled!”

Her brow furrowed as she rubbed at her eyes. She pulled the paper back over and looked at the paragraph. The paragraph that read ‘I will happily join a really cool group of people known as The Dark Order, no take backs’ over and over again. She looked at them. Blinked slowly.

“Does...does this mean that Count Chocula is a member of the Dark Order too? Wow, what a prospect.”

----

The hallways seemed eerily empty as they walked through Daily’s Place. She expected to run into Cutler or Britt, Swole even, but there was no one in sight. She could hear loud voices at the end of the hallway and as the trio came closer to the door, they boomed in her ears. The light at the end seemed to flicker each time Brodie Lee spoke. Reynolds and Silver went in first after they told her to wait outside. They wanted to do a grand reveal and she just wanted to go to sleep. Slowly, she slid down the wall and sat cross legged.

“Mr. Lee! Mr. Lee! We got someone! We really did this time!”

“Is it the Young Bucks?”

“Um, no sir, it’s not.”

“Oh, fuckin’ really? Is it Jungle Boy Jack Perry?”

“N-No, it’s not him either.”

“Not even the fuckin’ dinosaur? Hangman? We almost fuckin’ had him. The fuck happened there?”

They must have shaken their heads silently because the next shouted words snapped her out of her half sleep. She wrapped her arms loosely around herself and leaned back against the wall. Her eyes threatened to slip shut.

“Then why the FUCK should I care?”

“We got a doctor!”

She shook her head. That woke her up.

“Damn it, I’m not a doctor…”

Her eyes shifted from the door to the far end of the hallway. The light over her head stayed steady but the one at the other end flickered. The one above Uno who stood and stared at her in equal measure. The lights sputtered overhead as Uno approached her swiftly. He knelt down in front of her and offered her his hand. His eyes searched her face. The conversation continued behind the door but she wasn’t listening.

“What are you doing here?” He asked softly, a strain to his voice. The dark around his eyes was smudged and his chest heaved. “Did something happen?”

She huffed out a tired laugh and shook her head. He helped her up from her seat and tilted his head as she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, something sure did happen,” she started. “John Silver and Alex Reynolds stopped by my office. I guess they’re more convin--”

The door opened. John Silver went to take her hand to pull her up and into the room but Uno cut him off. Came to stand between the two with his head tilted down. Her smaller hand was still engulfed in his large warm one.

“The fuck are you doing, Silver?”

Uno was taller than the both of them and in his ring gear, he was an intimidating figure. And yet, she wasn't scared of him. She peered around him and dropped her hand from his. The shorter man caught the motion and tried to cover his surprise. It was a shitty attempt, really, but he recovered quickly. He gestured for her to go inside frantically.

“Come on, come on! He wants to meet you!”

She moved around Uno and met his eyes with a shrug. His brow furrowed and he followed behind her. Mr. Brodie Lee waited through the door’s threshold. Along with the rest of the Dark Order. Anna Jay shifted from her perch and crossed one leg over the other. The medic rubbed at her arms as she stood across from the significantly taller man whose dark eyes fixed her where she stood. Uno’s fingertips brushed along her arm as he moved past her to stand slightly behind and to the right of Mr. Lee. If she didn’t know any better, she thought Uno seemed wary. For good reason. Brodie Lee had a fearsome reputation. One she couldn't give two fucks about with the amount of sleep she was running on.

“Holy fucking shit,” Mr. Lee said as he shook his head. He swung around to look at Reynolds and Silver who collectively blanched. “How...in the sweet fuck...did you manage to pull this off? You got her? Isn’t she the one Uno won’t shut the fuck up about? Fuck. I think Ten even said something.”

It was hard to tell Uno’s expression behind the mask but by the way he stiffened, the way red seemed to creep up his exposed neck, she knew there was some truth to what Brodie Lee said.

“Yes, sir. That’s her.”

Her breath caught and she awkwardly shifted on her feet. Brodie’s attention went back to her and he took one long stride to stand in front of her. Tired eyes lifted to look up at him and before she could stop it, a yawn began to slip out. She slid a hand over her mouth to cover it. Brodie blinked at her and started to smile at her. There was a distinct feeling that she should have been unnerved and perhaps a part of her was. The rest of her was just tired and she glanced over to the plush seating with longing.

“You’re one of us now,” Brodie said as he placed a large hand on her small shoulder. It brought her attention back to him. With his other hand, he jabbed a thumb over at Silver and Reynolds. “Those two fucking idiots got you to sign off on it. And I gotta say, I’m pretty pleased. Hell of a lot more pleased than I thought I would be. There’s an equivalent exchange here, you know. We take care of you and you take care of us. That’s how it works around here. I mean, fuck, you’re already wearing our colors. And you make ‘em look damn good. Doesn’t she?”

Her cheeks warmed as the group gave varying responses of approval.

“They kind of just slid it across the table and I didn’t read it very well. I haven’t slept much over the last day or so and I’m so, so tired,” she admitted with a slight frown. She had seen people balk in the presence of The Exalted One. Exhaustion loosened her tongue. She blinked slowly and covered another yawn. The disappointment that rang through the room was profound. Even Anna’s normally stony expression wavered. Ten’s folded arms loosened some. Uno’s fingers tapped against his thigh nervously. She offered the room a weak smile. “But I, uh, do know that I’d rather be here than with the Inner Circle. So that’s something. I’m supposed to be neutral in all..." She paused as she made a wide gesture. "This.”

She waited a beat. Then slowly raised her hand in the signature Dark Order claw. Or at least she thought it was a claw. They had never been clear about that. Her brows knit together the longer she considered it.

Brodie squeezed her shoulder and then released her with a smirk. As he started talking again, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brought her over to the rest of them. Uno’s eyes shifted from her to Brodie and she could have sworn they seemed darker. Brodie let go of her and went to the two recruitment specialists.

“Good work you two. Good damn work,” Brodie said as he stood before Reynolds and Silver, the former trying his best to not make eye contact. “No papers for you tonight. Get the fuck out of here. It’s late and our newest member here is tired.”

As each member went out, she offered a smile and a small greeting. She wasn’t sure where exactly her new membership in the Dark Order would take her but everyone seemed happy with their newest addition. Anna stood in front of her and looked at her for a long time before she finally smiled. A true one. She had hardly registered that the young woman had squeezed her hand until she was gone. Uno had hung back from the rest of the group, idly moving glasses around on the bar top as he watched everyone go. Stu eyed him for a minute before he took his leave.

Finally, they were alone. The lights in the room seemed to dim as he approached her. Her stomach tightened. The question on her mind poured out fast.

“You really talk about me?”

“I do,” he admitted as he came to stand in front of her. A finger lifted her chin slightly so that her eyes would meet his. “Why wouldn’t I? Most people here don’t give us the time of day. But then there you are. Unbothered. Giving me the time of day. Your day, really. Even some of your nights if we lose track of time.”

Uno's voice caressed her like something warm and alive, dark even, and it stirred a heat low in her belly. Or maybe she was just that tired. She thought back to that time in her office. Before the Young Bucks had interrupted. The lights were nearly out and darkness crept in at the edges. His voice was heavy, breathy, when it broke through the quiet.

“I wanted it to be me.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked up at him blearily and as a chill crawled up her arms, she leaned forward. Leaned into him. Where the room was cold, he was warm. His hands came down to loosely grip her forearms gently. His rough hands slid across the fabric of her cardigan and for a moment, she wished it was her skin he was touching. She shivered as one hand played with a strand of her hair. She looked at him through slow blinks until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. It was hard to make out his answer as he lifted her up bridal style and pulled her into him. His voice was in her ear, clearer this time.

“You’re so tired. This place doesn’t let you rest, does it? Cody and the rest of them.” He murmured. They were walking somewhere but she couldn’t tell. Not with the way her arms were wrapped around his neck and her face burrowed into the heat of the vest he wore. She was stuck between wakefulness and rest. Her body was tired but with the way her body pressed against his, sleep was impossible. Wherever they were, it was dark. “You can rest around me. No one will bother you, you know? Not while I’m around.”

He set her down and she realized she was back in her office. He hadn’t even turned the light on but he had found it with no trouble. The cot wasn’t ideal but there was no way they could make it to her hotel room. Not at this hour and not without getting stopped. The cot wasn’t the most comfortable but as he put a sheet around her, it was close enough to heaven. She felt him start to go. Her hand searched for his and when she found it, she gave his large fingers a squeeze.

“You staying?”

His laugh filled the room and then his voice was in her ear, dark and alive and warm. He soothed her without even touching her.

“With you?” He said with a teasing tongue. His hand squeezed hers and then let her go. She heard him settle into the couch but when he talked, he still sounded near. A light laugh followed. “Of course.”

----

She woke up well into the next day and true to Uno’s word, she had gone completely unbothered. He was gone when she woke up and she found that she hated the empty spot where he had been. She didn’t see him again until his tag team match that following week. The only member she had seen had been Anna with a sore wrist. The younger woman thanked her and assured her that she was still with them. They were just biding their time. For what, the medic didn’t have a clue. Colt Cabana was just as in the dark as she was. She just had to trust and the idea of that was enough to make her mouth dry. If she saw him at all, it was only in passing. And she found it wasn’t enough.

There was no exhaustion to blame when her mind went to him quickly and without effort. She swore at herself under her breath as she tied her cardigan loosely around her hips.

She stood by where she usually did, slightly distanced from an always enthusiastic Billy and Austin Gunn. Uno and Stu were always aggressive in their matches. It was why she always looked forward to them in particular. Yet even still, there was a newfound intensity. Even as Uno strutted around the ring and taunted Jungle Boy, he moved and shouted like a man possessed.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was about to happen as the pair nailed the Fatality. Instead of leaving the ring, they lingered over a beaten Marko Stunt and Jungle Boy. As the Dark Order theme played, the rest emerged. Save for Brodie Lee himself. A mic was passed over to Uno. The theme was cut off.

“You hear that? That’s the sound of pain. Inescapable, destructive pain,” he said as he leered down at the two men. “But I have something to tell you two. Something to tell all of you. You don’t have to be like this. You can join us. Be more than what you are. And I promise you that through this pain, you can find deliverance. You can find order.”

He continued as he circled their limp bodies.

“Make your choice. Join us and kill your pain. We have just the brompton cocktail to ease your suffering.”

His gaze shot over to her and she froze. His chest heaved.

Uno went through the ropes closest to where she stood and reached out to her, fingers slightly curled. Murmurs erupted throughout the crowd. She was a nobody. Just a face on the side of the ring that came in whenever necessary. Nothing more, nothing less. She thought she had been satisfied with that. For a time, she supposed she had been. But as Uno looked at her, she knew that she was anything but.

She was ravenous and hadn’t known it.

The murmuring ringside stared at her as she crossed over the barrier. Her heart pounded in her chest and her skin felt electric. Her fingertips sparked against his and when she wrapped his hand with hers first, the crowd was stunned to silence. Those at the commentary table struggled to make sense of what they were witnessing. Uno led her up the stairs and parted the ropes for her to join the rest of the Dark Order. His dark gaze returned to Jungle Boy and Marko.

“Or you can choke on it.”

Jungle Boy blinked rapidly as if he too was trying to make sense of it. She had tended to him once before and they had been kind to one another. He had made her laugh before. But she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes clung to Uno as he gestured to Ten. He handed Uno something and it wasn’t until he was close behind her, the heat of him a contrast to the kiss of cold metal, that she understood what it was.

The Dark Order’s emblem dangled from her neck. In the Florida heat, it stuck to her damp skin. His fingertips kissed the back of her neck and then in an instant, he was by her side. The other members flanked her and as their music played, they raised their hands in tandem. She joined them.

“Who are we?”

Uno looked at her as his lips parted.

“We are one!”

----

She couldn’t stop fiddling with the necklace as the evening minutes ticked by. It was strange to be seen. Not just by Uno. That had never been strange. But by everyone else. She had always been a pit stop for wrestlers on their way to and from the ring. Now though, they looked at her. Really looked at her. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since they had left the stage in an electric shuffle of excitement.

Oddly, Uno had been silent after. Had left without so much as a word to her. As if the barest touch of his fingers against her neck hadn’t kindled the heat that licked up her spine. Her eyes followed his back until he was gone and after, she thought of him as she went to her office. Wrestlers and company members alike murmured as she practically floated past. She flipped the lightswitch on and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Mr. Lee in her chair. A hand flew to her chest.

“Jesus Christ, Mr. Brodie.”

For an absolute giant of a man, he didn’t move like one. She hadn’t even heard him get up.

“Not quite,” he said with a smile. “Not quite at all. The order looked good out there tonight, didn’t we?”

The pad of her thumb skimmed along the metal of her new necklace. His eyes briefly flickered down to look at it before he raised a brow at her.

“He wants you, you know,” he said with all the finesse of a blunt weapon. She should have expected as much. “It’s not unheard of. Uno wanting. He’s not obvious as fuck about it but he's ambitious. Always has been. But it’s different with you.”

Immediately, she bristled. She respected Mr. Brodie but she didn’t respect the way he spoke to her. Let alone what he alluded to. Even as he said it, she doubted. The corner of his mouth twitched as though he sensed it.

“That’s not any of your business, Mr. Brodie,” she said carefully. Her adrenaline thrummed under her skin, in her temples. “I expect you to respect that. Respect me. And him.”

She wasn’t blind to the way that Mr. Brodie went after his own organization’s members when his mood turned. Papercuts were more troublesome than people thought and she had seen Alex Reynolds sheepish more than once. Mr. Brodie shifted where he stood. Untouched by her words. Why wouldn’t he be anything but?

“It is,” he said. “I look out for my people. You want him too, don’t you?" He waved his hand just as she was about to speak. Her tongue felt heavy as lead. "You don’t have to say it. I already know. I’m good at knowing these things.”

Her face flushed red in spite of herself. He stood up from his seat and adjusted his tie before he went to the door. She stepped out of the way and glanced up at him. Her heart skipped. It had been an accident, her agreement to join the Dark Order. But for a moment, she feared being apart from it. Mr. Brodie pulled at his beard as he looked down at her.

“Ease up,” he said with a shake of his head. He took her hand and slipped a folded piece of paper into her palm. His laugh shook her out of her frigid stance. “You’ve only been with us a fucking week and I’m already tired of him making eyes at you. Fuck knows how long its gone on before that but a man can imagine. Go to him.”

The door opened and closed in the span of a single breath. She fell back against the door. The night had been an absolute goddamned whirlwind and it didn’t seem ready at all to let up. Her breath hardly had time to catch up with the thunder of her heart.

She unfolded the paper.

A room number.

One not that far from her own.

[theinkyisles]

but i’m writing this at three a.m.

Chapter One

Notes: I started this out of nowhere and I’m determined to see this out! It’s mostly going to focus on Janus and Virgil’s relationship, or rather lack thereof, after Virgil left and why Virgil left.  Also Janus is in love with Virgil and platonic dukeceit reigns supreme.

Pairings: endgame anxceit

Warnings: Small reference to medical issues, please tell me if I missed any!

Word Count: 1489

Link on Ao3

It was two in the morning.

Janus was cold.

It wasn’t anything new, Janus was usually cold. He couldn’t remember a time he wasn’t cold. Maybe in the very beginning, when the King was still around and he and Virgil were as thick as thieves, but that time wasn’t worth remembering. It brought too much grief. And so it wasn’t odd that Janus was cold. He was always cold, with ice in his feet, and an icicle in his chest. Every so often, that icicle would dig itself further into his heart, piercing it with its freezing touch and cold demeanor and-

And maybe he wasn’t thinking about just being cold anymore.

Janus groaned and flopped onto his back. He pushed away his electric blanket and heating pad, the idea being that if they weren’t going to do their job and warm him up, he didn’t want to be near them. He hated the texture of that blanket anyways. Roman probably did that on purpose; he was quite smug when he handed it over, but Janus was too proud to ask for a new one. The heating pad had been a gift from Patton, after one too many instances of food he made not settling well with Janus’ stomach. He didn’t mind it and had since then used it often, not that he ever told Patton that.

Glancing around his room, he started picking out things that hadn’t been there a few months earlier, prior to the beginning of his acceptance. A snake plushie from Patton, a book on Emmanuel Kant from Logan, his two corn snakes sitting in their terrarium from Remus, though that one had been there for much longer than the rest. Janus sat up against the headboard of his bed and watched as his snakes dozed underneath their heat lamp, nice and cozy. He would take them up to hold them for a bit, but he thought better of it. Why disrupt their sleep just because he couldn’t?

He kept looking around the room, head lounging against the backboard. A lot of the little knick-knacks were from Remus, admittedly. Snake skeletons hung from the ceiling like constellations. That had been a birthday gift, two years ago. After Virgil left.

He didn’t want to go down that road.

Janus refocused his attention on the book by Emmanuel Kant sitting on his main bookshelf. That had been a bit of an inside joke between him and Logan, something that the other sides had never understood and never really sought to. Logan would still smile and call him Emmanuel after he had been caught in a certain lie. Janus quickly realized that it was the only time Logan allowed himself to smile, let alone joke or laugh, so he endeavored to do it more often. Logan seemed to appreciate it.

The plushie had been an “acceptance” gift, of sorts, at least according to Patton. Janus hadn’t seen the point in it, but disappointing Patton just didn’t make sense in the moment. So, he took it and arranged it gently at the top of one of his many bookshelves overlooking the whole room. Its little tongue was stuck out in a little blep, making Janus smile slightly. It was cute, he’d give Patton that.

The only thing Roman had gifted to Janus was actually something that Janus treasured quite closely. An old-fashioned record player that sat on its own pillar in the corner of the room, next to Janus’ elaborate desk. The brass speaker was somehow modified for the sound to be changed according to what hand motion Janus made, which was what shocked him the most. What was the point of making something so complex for someone who Roman supposedly hated? Janus never asked, too afraid of Roman taking the gift away.

Janus swung the comforter off his legs and scooted to the edge of the large bed. He gently placed his feet onto the plush carpeting, into a set of slippers Remus gave him years ago. He slowly pushed himself off the mattress, his knees creaking from the cold. Janus wrinkled his nose at the feeling of the cold sweat accumulating at his back and underneath his arms, and resigned himself to taking a shower before he left his room. A small shiver ran down his back and Janus moved his head back to try and get the crick out of his neck. After a few minutes of gentle stretching, he started to move towards the bathroom. A hot shower would help with the cold, at the very least.

He slowly shuffled his way to the bathroom door, his head suddenly full of fog from the sudden movements. As soon as he picked up his silk robe from the doorknob, a knock was heard from the hallway outside his bedroom. Curious, he laid the robe over his arm and stepped towards the door, opening it in the same motion. Across the hallway, Logan’s door was opened as well, the owner of the room standing in the doorway. Virgil stood in front of Logan, the large patchwork hood over his head. They spoke in hushed tones, a fond look on Logan’s face. Janus shifted his footing, the floor creaking below him. Virgil’s whole body twisted to face the other side. Logan’s head had likewise shot up to meet Janus’ gaze. At the sight of him, Virgil hissed, pressing back into Logan. Said man stared at Janus for a few moments, and then flickered his eyes down to the much shorter side. Janus got the idea and stepped back further into his own room, and shut his door. He stood there for a moment before pressing his ear against the door.

“…-an’t believe that eavesdropping snake.”

��Virgil, he probably just heard us in the hall and wanted to investigate.”

“No! That’s just what he wants you to think! Trust me on this, Lo. He's evil.”

Janus stayed at the door until he couldn’t hear them anymore. He straightened up. He strode to the bathroom door, draping his robe over his arm. With a quiet step into the tiled bathroom, he shut the door behind him, and turned on the water so that they couldn’t hear him crying.

[]

Janus made his way down the stairs as he pulled his gloves taut. It was barely daybreak when he stepped into the Light Sides’ kitchen, Patton still sound asleep. He wasn’t planning to stay for long, Virgil would have his head after last night’s encounter. Swiftly, he filled and placed the kettle on the stove. He used his third hand to reach up for his favorite mug as the second reached for his morning tea, the first still setting up the stove.

As he pulled down his mug, he tossed a glance back to make sure that he wouldn’t drop the ceramic onto the floor. He paused. That wasn’t his mug. This mug was plain, white, utterly dull. His was handmade, by Remus and Virgil when they were kids. It was the last thing-

It was the last thing he had from his time with the Dark Sides before Virgil left.

Convinced he must have made a mistake, what with his sleepless night, he finished setting up the kettle and tea bag. He opened the cabinet. He shifted through the different customized cups, but his mug was still missing. Janus pursed his lips. This was odd, he admitted to himself. He was used to craziness in his schedule, he lived for Remus for many years and adapted accordingly, but this? Remus wouldn’t do this.

Breathing in, Janus refused to allow this incident to ruin his morning. He had better things to do today than cry over a missing mug. If anything, it was still in the dishwasher. He kept going about his business, tidying up the kitchen as he went. He moved over towards the trashcan to deposit a dirty paper towel left on the counter. That’s when he saw it. Shards of ceramic buried beneath paper plate and snack wrappers. Purple and green, black and yellow pieces.

Shattered

Janus blinked once. Twice. He dropped the paper towel into the bin. He shut off the stove, depositing the kettle in the sink. He grabbed the trash bin and with two of his arms, swept his favorite teas sitting on the counter into the container. He tossed back it into its usual corner without his usual grace and tact.

He stood there for a few moments, suddenly unsure of what to do with himself. A creaking floorboard forced his attention to the top of the stairs, where Virgil stood, looking down at Janus. They locked eyes for a few moments.

“I won’t leave,” Janus said. “I deserve this just as much as you do.”

Virgil said nothing. Infuriated and achingly upset, Janus stormed towards and up the stairs, stalking past Virgil with the heavy feeling of his heart beating painfully in his chest.

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Bluegrass -Chapter 24

          Special thanks to @statell​ for all your help and encouragement

Previous chapters at AO3

Chapter Twenty-Four (NSFW)

“Oh! Dear God!” Claire landed at Jamie's side hearing him struggle to catch his breath. “Its official, this cannot be undone, the genie is out of the bottle.”

Jamie pulled her close to him and tried to make sense out of what she said. Yesterday she said she was ruined for life, today the genie is out of the bottle. He tread carefully, feeling this was big information delivered in some kind of code.

“What exactly do ye mean, mo chridhe?”

Claire opened her eyes and blushed crimson before changing the subject. “You have a few more days to rest so promise me you won’t disobey doctor’s orders not to use your arm?”

“Sassenach, remember the deal we made with Rupert and Angus? They leave for Scotland tomorrow, for two weeks. You goin back to work and me of limited use that leaves Jason to manage it all. He canna do it alone.”

Jamie started to get up when Claire reached to stop him. “What if I know someone that can jump into the job and needs no training? Do you remember Steve? He has experience with horses, and he’s bored until school starts. If you agree, I’ll call him.

That was only a small part of Claire’s anxiety at the moment. Poor planning on her part had not prepared her for the numerous calls that came in from her email about returning to her practice. Her days were filling up with appointments that she could not handle alone. Molly was no longer available at any time with her blooming romance and there wasn’t time to hire someone and train them. The butterflies of anxiety had become sharks that were consuming her stomach.

Claire stood at the sink in her scrubs and wet hair chewing toast and washing it down with juice. Her heart hurt when she looked at Jamie’s face, so sad.

“I’ve grown attached to yer company Sassenach and now I must miss ye every day.”

She kissed him so sweetly and realized that without her driving anxiety, she would feel the same sadness.

“I can’t wait to hug you tonight. I will have much to report and I will miss you every second.”

Claire gripped the steering wheel as she negotiated the merge into freeway traffic. White clammy hands and a racing heart just compounded her misery. It only took twenty minutes to get hopelessly lost forcing her off the freeway to check her obviously broken navigation system. She sat on the side of the road and saw the turn she missed five miles back. She felt defeated and just wanted to go home. She had never done her job solo and suddenly questioned if she could. How was she going to find these remote places and do a day’s work without help? It was impossible. The blinker clicked as she waited to pull onto the road.

Claire looked down at the phone in her hand and tried to calculate the improbability of her next move. When he answered she felt her eyes sting at the sound of his voice.

“Nice surprise doctor B, oh wait, doctor F, hmm, it will take some time getting used to..”

“You might have to get used to calling me Claire. Go ahead, it won’t cause permanent damage.”

“Alright, Claire, what’s up?”

“Well, I was wondering, well, hoping, actually praying that you might have some free time to help me now and then …some days of the week...not very many, maybe.”

Dustin laughed, “I happen to be unemployed now, so yes. We stayed for the first summer session so Hope could take a class she missed. Now we’re home, no one is hiring. I’m excited just thinking about it!”

Claire’s hand was cramping from holding her phone so tight and her eyes popped open. “Was that a yes?”

“Yes! I can come with you today if you want.”

“What? Really? Oh Dustin, you are a lifesaver. I am lost on the side of the rode and thirty minutes late for my first appointment. Can you guide me to where you are?”

“Let’s start with where you are, can you see a street sign?”

Fifteen minutes later, Hope pulled behind Claire’s truck and Dustin got out. Claire was in the passenger seat already, so he jumped behind the wheel as Claire waved to Hope.

They were pulling up to Claireborn Farm ten minutes later and Dustin used his excellent driving skills to back up to the large rolling doors giving them quick access to the equipment they would need. Claire’s first day back after six months and Dustin’s first day back in a year made for a timid start as they got accustomed to working together again.

Claire was a stone-celebrity at each stop and there were many of the same questions asked over and over again. Dustin would set up the treatments and the moment Claire could break away from the fanning owner she would nearly collide with the first horse. The awkwardness between Claire and Dusty could not flourish under their practiced timing and it fell away as they powered through the day.

“Jamie, could you send Rupert to pick me up please? Dustin is going to work with me for the next two months and I don’t like to drive. Thank you, sweetheart, see you soon.”

“Married life agrees with you Claire.”

“I could say the same for you young man, you look healthy and happy.”

Dustin looked straight ahead out the windshield, “Hope is great.”

Claire dug into her files and Dustin dictated the treatments done today, appointments for a recheck, what tests were being done, and special billing requirements. She heaved them off her lap and smiled at Dustin when Jamie was driving up.

“Thank you Dusty.”

He shook hands with Jamie and grimaced at his bandaged elbow before heading for home. When Hope saw the big truck still dripping from the car wash, she ran outside to embrace her husband. Claire’s energy had clung to him all the way home but when he looked into Hope’s sweet face, he was free again.

Claire was quiet on the way home, bowled over by the contrast between her old life of living alone in her little mountain cabin, spending her days with Dusty, and her current reality of world-famous jockey and wife of Jamie Fraser. The degree of change in one year was astounding and she was deep in her head about it.

Jamie looked at his wife and felt lonely for her. He steered the truck with his knee and ran his hand down her arm to get her attention.

“I'm concerned about the seat belt around ye lass. Ye see, it gets most of the wear and tear compared to the middle one. See, this one is practically new. For yer own safety, come sit here, love.”

Claire smiled and moved closer to Jamie feeling the cascade of love emotions when her thigh pressed against his.

“Claire, can I act like a fourteen-year-old with his first crush for a minute?”

“Let it rip fourteen-year-old Jamie,” was her giggled response.

“Were ye romantically involved with Dusty?”

“No, never. I worked shoulder to shoulder with him for two years and never really knew him. Molly and I drove him home the last day before he left for school. We pulled up to a house and I didn’t know if his parents lived there if they were alive, any brothers or sisters, nothing. I am very skilled at not letting people in, ever. But you changed all that, like an avalanche my life filled with people like Molly, Lulu, Michael, Jason, Rupert and Angus, and now Steve and his father. Christ my life has changed so much I can hardly believe it, and it’s all your fault.”

Jamie was listening intently. Claire didn’t talk much about who she was inside and how she got that way and he wanted to hear more.

“Why?”

“After my parents died, I didn’t seem to belong to anybody. People fed me and gave me a bed, but I didn’t belong to them. I would lay in their strange bed at night and cry for hours, watching the door for my own father to come in and rescue me. Every night I watched the door and waited for him. I felt like that little girl again when the FBI terrorized me for hours, locked me in a fifty-degree room with no chair or couch, and only the cold concrete floor to lie on. When I felt your arms slide under me and carry me out of that torturous building, it finally happened, someone came for me.”

Jamie’s heart nearly broke thinking of that tiny girl alone in the world. He leaned toward her ear, “it was two years before I saw ye again, Sassenach.”

“Well, ha, Isobel walked in on me getting out of your shower and morphed into pure evil. So I dodged your requests for a while but when you called about Runner I couldn’t stay away. It was pure luck that I checked the dam’s wing when I did and found the dead mare. As it was, we raced to beat the seconds he had left before he expired inside his mother. Since I was responsible for him being on this earth, I wanted to help him if I could.”

“Did ye know I slept with ye half the night after gettin ye from the FBI? Ye wouldn’t warm-up, it was the only way I knew.”

“I remember every conscious minute to this day, including your hand pressing into my stomach and running down my leg before you jerked awake and ran back to your room.” Claire was laughing.

“Ah, ye felt that, did ye? Sorry Sassenach.”

“Don’t be sorry, I loved it! You were my hero for what you did, and I tucked the memory in a special place in my head so I could keep it forever.”

Jaime lifted her chin to look in her eyes, “ye fascinate me, love.” He kissed her deeply before she jumped out to let him get back to work. She felt different inside. Happier, closer to Jamie and the feeling stayed with her through a hot shower and her walk to the barn. When she saw Jamie, the look in his eyes said he felt it too. Remarkable, she thought, she dropped her past like an old novel, but Jamie was hungry to hear about it. And what a lovely outcome.

Jamie handed her a lead as they approached the pasture fence and watched Runner and Porcelain gallop toward them from the other side. A safe distance from the fence Porcelain dropped to a trot and so did Runner who accepted the lead and walked like a gentleman back to his stall.

As they were leaving, Porcelain decided to make her unhappiness known by kicking at the corral gate of her stall with a lonely whiny. No consoling would help her calm down. She was done being alone.

“There you go Romeo, yer girlfriend is right beside ye now. Mind yer manners, aye?”

Jamie put his good arm around Claire and smiled to himself. “I’ve made some decisions about the rest of the day. You are to pick something on Netflix while I go pick up a large pizza and a dozen wings. Ye can eat in yer wee robe and fall asleep in my arms if ye want. How does that sound?”

Claire ran to Jamie’s truck and jumped into the passenger seat, staring at him like, hurry up!

Slow summer days stretched ahead of them. Two or three days per week Claire would tie hanging apples to the tree branches out in the pasture and leave sugar cubes on the fence in different places to keep Runner looking for treats. Steve and Jason built the breeding shed with pointers from Steve’s father now and then. A dedicated mares wing was outfitted to house the broodmares who would stay there for breeding and one stall was converted into a lab for medical equipment and on-site testing. The enormity of this undertaking was becoming clear, but time was on their side.

Jamie made improvements to the house and on one occasion demonstrated how he mounted a sixty-inch television in a newly built recess in the wall and covered it with a huge picture on side swing hinges. Claire clapped and kissed, very impressed with his ingenuity. She looked around the large room that had always felt cold and sterile to her.

“Jamie, what do you think about this furniture? Did you and Isobel pick it out together?”

Jamie chuckled, “I hate it and had no hand in choosin it. Isobel hired some decorator, and this is what they came up with. When I built the chess table, Isobel moved it to the garage. That was the first time I told her to find her own place to live. After that she allowed it in the house but always hated it.”

It became Claire’s project to order and collect all the decorating and architecture magazines they could look through for ideas. She would spread them out on the bed, and they would both make a gallant effort only to hear them crackle under the weight of two athletic bodies chasing their passion or lay sound asleep on top of them.

By mid-July, there was a new trainer in residence bringing seven two-year-olds and seven handlers with him. Boot camp for the yearling races was in full swing by August. It brought the energy of horse racing and the Road to the Kentucky Derby back to the compound, infecting the whole crew.

“I don’t think I need to eat anymore, love. I can exist on the energy and excitement alone.”

“I miss your bur and contractions sweetheart,” said as she hugged him. “Why do you try so hard to lose them?”

“That is a long and boring story for another time. I’ve come for ye to talk sense into Runner before I have to. He’s watchin the yearlings race each other and pressin his chest against the pasture fence. I have to replace a whole section, so c’mon and fix him.”

Claire laughed as Jamie pulled her outside to his truck. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and spending some time with Runner was an excellent idea.

Claire loved these low- key summer days but when August came to a close, she hugged Dustin and cried before doing the same to Hope. She drove herself home that day and when out of sight she pulled over and cried in earnest.

The breeding room was finished, and Steve was leaving for the academy. Jason got moody because he would be shipped back to New York until February and he didn’t want to leave Lulu. When Claire asked if he would like to stay and assist her it seemed like a reprieve to him and he was very grateful.

As with Molly, Claire bit her tongue for the first month until Jason knew the routine. He would never be as good as Dustin, no one would be that good, ever, and she wondered why. She compared Jason’s actions with Dustin’s and realized that she was Dustin’s priority, not the treatment, or the horse. It would require someone loving her to the bone to be as good as Dusty was, and she would not wish that on anyone.

The onset of fall, with cooler weather and colorful foliage was the delight of Kentucky residents and tourists alike. Dogwoods and Sumacs turned red and purple, Sugar Maples were orange and red, Poplars and Hickories added yellow and gold. The dense forests of hardwood trees and the numerous lakes provided a romantic canvas for long walks, deep talks, and Jamie’s inspiration for a different future at Highland Brothers.

“We are blessed with a miracle horse. If he is fertile it will guarantee unspeakable wealth for the two of us. I have never been comfortable with that level of wealth especially when our crew will never see such comforts. My memory fades from the early days in Ireland working at a stud farm. It’s a huge operation and we will need all of them to pull this off.” He stopped and pulled her into a hug. “Runner can change two lives or six lives. What say ye to that?”

Claire’s smile was beaming when she jumped up and wrapped her legs around Jamie’s waist, punching the air above her head yelling yes! Her generous heart was just fed a super-size of glee and she hopped along the trail until her feet became obedient again. Jamie laughed at her sparkling happiness until she pulled him to her with a very serious face.

“Jamie, I know we have much to do but I have one request. Will you dance for me tonight?”

He ran his finger over her jawline, “I will.”

For the next four weeks, they worked on the business plan almost every night. Jamie met with stud farm owners that were very generous with their time and education. He showed humility and an eagerness to learn and kept a diligent log of each meeting. Claire met with fertility vets and was treated to a cart blanch atmosphere from her peers. They shared protocols that had worked for them and Claire let her gratitude show. The first Saturday in December they hosted a workshop.

There was a full breakfast spread before starting and hot coffee that was refreshed throughout the day. Jamie started with a quick explanation of the business plan, and an overview of each person's role.

“Lulu, yer the first contact and qualifier for serious inquiries. Through phone or by mail, yer the one to decide which mares make it to my desk. Don’t be scared,” said chuckling at her white face, “we’re gonna teach ye. There will be a mountain of information arriving on each mare, Sire and Dam lines, registration copies, genetic profiles, test results, vet checks, fertile histories, racing history and foal statistics. That is yer domain and it’s essential.”

Lulu’s eyes were tearing, and she shook her head side to side, “I can’t be responsible for all that, what if I mess everything up?”

Jamie’s face softened at her fear. “I have never met a grid brain more suited to this task. What was Tacitus’s last race, how did he do?

“Aqueduct, second place.”

“How did Code of Honor do and where I wonder?”

“Breeder’s Cup, seventh place.”

“What are Tacitus’s earnings so far?”

“Six hundred thousand.”

“Who told ye to memorize those stats?”

Lulu blushed crimson and looked around defensively, “no one.”

“If ye don’t see it in yerself, lass, trust me, yer the best for this job.”

“Rupert, Angus, ye do transport, bed and breakfast ID checks, turn-outs, follow special feed instructions, and handlers in the breedin room…”

Jamie stopped while they joked about having such a hard job. “Seems easy ye say. There will be five to seven mares with us rotatin in and out for four months, some look identical, if ye return a mare to the wrong owner we sell Runner and close this operation down. Can’t recover from a mistake like that. The mares are your responsibility gentlemen if ye turn out six hormonal mares and they have a throw down out there with no one to stop it?” Jamie paused while the ramifications sunk into their brains. “I trust ye with my life, now I’m trustin ye with theirs.”

“Jason is the manager at stud so questions and concerns go to him and he will make any changes needed.”

Rupert and Angus were wondering if they could eat more, Lulu was bursting with pride over her boyfriend, and Jason’s self-esteem swelled knowing he would head up this huge endeavor.

Claire went next and gave a biology lesson in equine conception, what it meant to cover a mare, how they would use technology and medicine to bring on the mare's estrus, confirm ovulation, and then verify fertilization.

“Adding to the tasks Jamie mentioned, Rupert and Angus, you will be in the breeding room for every cover. One holds the mare, the other collects the semen that leaks out when he jumps down. I will teach you both how to do this properly.” Claire couldn’t help laughing at their green faces.

“Runner is unproven, so we take it easy this first year. The mares that are chosen to breed will arrive spaced out through March until late May. When they arrive, we run tests for health and fertile readiness. I will bring them into estrus with hormones and hope to get ovulation so they can breed. After that, we watch for fertilization using ultrasound, or breed again. The mares return to their own farms pregnant and then we get paid, not a cent before.”

When they stopped for lunch Claire ran for the doorbell. She stared at Michael who held up a hardback book with her and Runner on the cover crossing the finish line. The title read, Midnight Runner A Champion for the Ages. The tears came in sobs as she hugged him to her, and Jamie extended his hand when she finally let go. He handed the book to Claire and was led into the kitchen where the whole crew was there to greet him. He was stunned and very happy to see everyone.

Claire sat with the book on her lap while Jamie wrapped up the meeting answering questions. He could see Claire was in another world wanting to read the book more than she wanted to breathe.

“I want to wrap this up with the best part and thank ye for accepting the extra chores and responsibilities we gave ye without question. Yer good people, loyal and hard workin. This operation will flourish if ye work together as a team, help each other when needed, give support and encouragement, and do yer individual jobs like it was yer own company, yer own money on the line. Because it is. If Runner is infertile or has a poor breedin outcome, then I alone suffer the initial investment and ye get yer regular pay. I don’t think that will happen, so I’ve set my attorney to write up a profit-sharing plan. Your hard work and integrity will pay off. If the profit is there, and it will be, you get a piece of it.”

“How much of a bonus Jamie?” Rupert smiled and waited.

“As we said, the first year will be very low key while we prove Runner’s ability and we all learn the business. A conservative number…” he held up a piece of paper with $50,000.00 on it.

Angus chuckled, “not bad to start, ten grand extra each year will be nice.”

Jamie held up his hand until he had their attention. “Each. The second-year and those that follow…” he wrote numbers on another piece of paper and held it up. $200,000.00 to $300,000.00. “Each.”

There was a stunned silence as four sets of eyes stared at the paper. Each of them knew Jamie to be an honest man of integrity. Never boastful, never wrong. They filed out of the house trying to say something intelligible as they continued to process the numbers Jamie showed them.

When the meeting ended, Michael stayed and chatted while the food was put away and the house put back in order.

“What are yer plans Michael?” Jamie noticed Claire was peeking at the pages while he and Michael talked.

“I have a book signing tour for the next four months because the publisher believes it will be a best-seller. If it’s not, the tour will surely end early,” said laughing. “I would love to assess Runner tomorrow if you don’t mind. I know he is still here because I talk to the receptionist every month or so.”

“I feel great pride in ye laddie.”

“So does my father, a blessing I never expected when I started all this.”

Jamie drove Michael back to his hotel later in the day and Claire was finally alone to start reading Michael’s book. She turned the first page almost shaking with excitement.

‘Dedicated to the bravest woman I have ever known, risking life and limb through every race so Midnight Runner could be the champion he was born to be. Midnight Runner will never be forgotten, and neither will you, Claire Beauchamp.’

The book landed on the bed as Claire ran to the bathroom for tissues. She cried so hard and wrapped her arms around her middle like she would die from the emotion. Every terrified day came rushing back in her memory. The day she prepared her speech for Jamie, telling him she was done and would not race Runner. The gate crash in their first race that almost toppled Runner, to her certain death. The crippling fear being loaded into the gate at the next race, so sure she would die this time. Runner telling her she would be a winner on him, telling her when to tuck, gloating after the race, seeing no other horse in front of them when they crossed the finish line. Her deafness, hearing only Runner breathing as she stretched her arms forward with every stride.

She processed the memory of every race and realized that Runner knew he would win, always. His only weakness was the race in the rain when she took over the race and he put his faith in her to guide him. Runner knew he was a champion and he proved it at Belmont with a thirty-one- length win for the Triple Crown. All he needed was a rider to make his claim in history and he chose her.

It was the first time since winning at Belmont that she considered all the private moments, the struggle against her fear, the elation of winning, and her emergence as a jockey with a single-minded determination to win it all, even if she lost Jamie in the process.

She picked the book up again, almost fearing the emotion it would invoke and turned to chapter one. Michael wrote from his point of view, so she was reading a different story than her own. She was fascinated.

She read how Michael tried to hide his excitement in that first meeting at Aqueduct after they fired their trainer. His effort to overcome his introverted personality and accept the offer to come to Kentucky. When Claire read the details about Rupert disclosing her gift after almost strangling Michael in the middle of the night and his desperate attempt to escape what he perceived to be lunatics on a remote farm, she lost it. The book hit the floor first followed by Claire, on her hands and knees laughing until she cried and struggled to breathe.

Jamie stood in the doorway to their bedroom and watched his wife laugh until she dropped her butt on the ground and leaned back against the bed, wiping her tears.

“This is hysterical Jamie! Reading about Michael’s midnight walk to the barn in the dark, Rupert accosting him from behind, telling him I discuss the odds with Runner. He thought we were all crazy and looked for a way to escape!”

“What chapter are ye on?”

“Page two actually.”

Jamie had secretly dreaded what Michael would write. Hoping he would be kind to Claire and not write a tell-all gossip book full of half-truths.

“I have been worried he might write something unsuitable.”

“Well, I will be sure and let you know if I read anything unsuitable.”

She pulled Jamie toward the shower pulling her own clothes off so she could join him under the suds. When she covered him in soap her arousal jumped into the one-alarm fire zone which could be ignored since Jamie had some work to do before bed tonight. She put on her robe and jumped on the bed to keep reading. In ten minutes she was daydreaming and put the book away. She stretched languidly watching images of Jamie between her legs driving her crazy. It was now a two-alarm fire and her heart was racing.

Jamie was recording expenses in his ledger by the light of a single lamp on his desk. He felt it. A low-level electric current that made the hair on his arms and neck stand up. He felt her arm across his shoulders and looked up into steamy whisky colored eyes that he was powerless to disobey. She nudged his chair so he would slide it back and she pushed his work to the side sitting directly in front of him. Jamie stood up and pulled her mouth to his by his grip on her hair, tasting blood in his mouth when she bit his lip. He continued to assault her mouth letting his fingers touch her thighs and stomach lightly until she moaned in complaint. It was a blazing three-alarm fire burning her core and stealing her breath.

Jamie stopped suddenly and stood above her, watching her breasts bounce while she panted, eyes just slits looking up at him. She looked like a wild cat sizing up her pray and the electric current he felt started to buzz in his balls and up his spine. She reached for his mouth to kiss him, but he put a hand on her chest easing her down to lay across his desk. He could see the whole lower floor twenty feet below them and wrapped her hands around the wrought iron safety barrier. He pulled her knees up and pushed them apart before sitting down in his chair where he would take his time tasting and teasing her. Claire moaned with her first orgasm and, he let her slippery pulsing pull him in. He did not move until the pulsing stopped and her eyes opened.

“Turn your head to the side and look down Sassenach. You mustn’t let go.”

Claire felt her stomach do flip flops when she looked over the edge into the floor below. As Jamie’s arousal increased, his thrusting pushed her ever closer to the edge. She lost focus of the perilous drop-off and gave in to her lust, moaning loudly and watching this brute take her roughly. Jamie stepped away from her and carried her to the bed where he lit a candle. He poured a whisky for each of them and watched her.

She’s a purring wild cat now until I remind her of my power, he thought and dropped his head to her core to lick her once. Her face looked a bit shocked. He sipped his whisky and without warning dropped to her bud and sucked it into his mouth for a few seconds and then sipped his drink raking his eyes over her perfect curves. There was a third lick and a fourth, and the purring stopped. Jamie’s heart was ramming in his chest at the way she looked at him like she would sink her teeth into his neck if he didn’t ease her pain. When he did, it was forceful and commanding, followed by brutal thrusting that nearly cost him control.

He stretched his body over hers and looked at her with such love it almost stopped her heart. The wild cat gave way to an open-hearted woman who wrapped her love around his soul and kissed him softly. When he moved in her again it was softly as he told her of the most profound love and devotion and then he kissed the rolling tears from her face.

Claire snuggled into Jamie’s arms with a deep sigh. He figured she would read all night, but the book laid on her side table forgotten. He kissed her forehead and smiled in the dark.

[kurt-nightcrawler]

I’ve got a boyfriend

Request: could you possibly do a warden x reader where she’s like super sweet and innocent (has like nature/healing powers and in this au avengers are there) anyways the Avengers visit the mansion and peter meets reader and is like all heart eyes and she’s super sweet and he mistakes it as she likes him too and then warren returns from a mission or somethin and she’s happy and is like pitching him up and peter realizes and the avengers are like it’s okay kid and warren is all smug and like yeah mine. also with that warren x reader ft. peter request. bc she’s so in tune with nature and herself can her eyes kinda be like a mood ring and shift with her feelings. so it’s like a warm green or yellow for happiness and so peters like yeah she likes me but then when she’s with warren he watches them shift to like a soft pink. like literal heart eyes and warren teasers her a bit (in a good way)

Word Count: 2.3k

Peter swung over to the Avenger’s headquarters on a Saturday. He always did this. 

“What’s on the agenda for today?” He asked Karen.

“Mr. Stark wants you to join the Avengers to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.”

“Xavier’s? Where—  What is that?”

“It’s a boarding school in New Salem.” Karen didn’t say anything else, leaving Peter with lots of questions. 

-

“Why are we going to a boarding school? What’s at Xavier’s?”

 Steve and Bucky chuckled at his curiosity.

“This isn’t like any other boarding school… It’s like Area 51.” Tony said.

“Didn’t you buy Area 51?” Bruce asked.

“That’s beside the point. We’re going here to talk to The man himself, Xavier.” 

Peter still had a lot of questions, but he had no idea where to start. Area 51 the boarding school? Is that where Carol’s Kree friend’s kids went to school? Peter took his phone out of his pocket and texted Ned. 

PETER: What is Xavier's school for gifted youngsters?

NED: It’s some boarding school for really smart kids. Trey from Bio tried to get in but didn’t pass the exam. Why?

PETER: Mr. Stark is taking me there. He and a couple of other Avengers are like, visiting or something. Idk.

NED: DUDE! You gotta tell me everything when u get back! I bet there are tons of really hot nerd girls there!!

Peter snorted to himself. Of course, Ned would think of girls. 

But there was some truth in his statement. There probably would be tons of smart girls there. But Tony described it as Area 51… 

NED: If you can get a girl’s number from Xaiver’s we’d be super cool. 

PETER: Yeah. But Mr. Stark called it Area 51 the school. What if it’s full of aliens?

NED: Okay? And? Technically Princess Leia is an alien. 

PETER: She’s also fictional.

NED: And? You’re seventeen and never been kissed before. You don’t have room to be picky.

PETER: You’ve never been kissed either!! 

NED: Shhhhhhh This is about u, not me

PETER: *eye roll emoji*

Peter turned his phone off and gazed out the window. He saw trees. The trees eventually started to die down and the car slowed down. They came to a set of gates and a sign that said Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Once entering through the gates, Tony drove around and parked the car. Peter could see glimpses of the school grounds. He saw a few students and at first glance, they didn’t look like aliens. But Kree could shapeshift. Maybe they just shifted to blend in. 

Then he saw a kid with a tail.

Maybe not. “I thought this was a school for aliens.”

Everyone stared at him blankly. 

“Aliens?! Kid, we didn’t mean that literally. When I said Area 51, I meant it’s kinda secret. Not that it’s full of aliens.” 

“Oh.” Peter felt rather foolish. “So it’s just a normal boarding school?” 

“No.” Bucky slammed the car door shut. “It’s a school for mutants.” 

“Mutants? But like, I thought they were kind of a myth. I mean besides Magento and Mystique, but they were around in like, the 70s.”

“And they’re still around. Let’s hope Erik isn’t here. I don’t want any trouble like last time.” Steve said the last part while staring Tony down. 

“It’s not my fault he can control metal and I’m Iron Man!” 

Peter was super confused. Didn’t Magento try to kill the president? Was he evil?

Bucky killed a president, but he’s not inherently evil. I need to give Magento a chance. I need to give everyone at the school a chance. Maybe make some new friends— flex on Flash that my girlfriend has superpowers or something. Wouldn’t that be hilarious?

They walked up a few stairs out front and opened the doors leading inside. 

-

“Oh wow. Wow.” The building was old looking but had a few modern touches here and there. Every room was bustling with people— mutants, going about their lives. 

Peter saw all kinds of mutants and he had only been inside for a few minutes! 

“Oh wow, Mr. Stark… Where’s uh… Professor… Professor... uh—“

“Professor Xavier’s in his office.” 

The Avengers turned to look at the speaker. She had vines wrapped around her legs and arms, along with some flowers and leaves scattered in her hair, and her eyes were a bright yellow color. 

“Thanks, kid. We know where his office is.” 

She nodded, “No problem.” 

Tony glanced at Peter’s slightly pink cheeks and back at the plant girl. “Do you wanna come with us or are you sticking with Mother Nature?” 

“I can show you around if you want.” Everyone looked at Peter, anticipating an answer. 

“Yeah, sure. I’ll catch up with you guys later.” 

“Alright, have fun. And don’t forget to be safe!” 

Peter blushed again, trying to ignore Tony’s teasing remarks, already figuring out he liked the plant girl. 

-

“My name is (Y/N) by the way.” 

“(Y/N), Hi. I’m Peter. Peter Parker.” 

She smiled, “What’s your mutation, Peter Parker?” 

“Oh um, I don’t— well it’s not a mutation, but, when I was fourteen I got bit by a radioactive spider and I got spider abilities.” 

“Spider abilities?”

He nodded, “I’m uh, really strong and I stick to things. Plus I have this like weird sixth sense sort of, like a spider-sense.” 

“You’re strong and sticky?” Peter nodded, a little flustered. (Y/N) laughed. Peter laughed with her. “I’m sorry, but that’s a hilarious description.” 

“I mean— yeah, yeah… What can you do?”

“Oh! I’m really in tune with nature. I can manipulate plants, and my eyes change color based on my mood. Red is angry, blue is calm, green is happy, yellow is excited— there’s more, but those are the most common.” 

Her eyes are green and yellow right now. That means she’s happy and excited— they haven’t changed since we met. Maybe she’s into me. Oh my god! What if she’s into me? She might be into me. Play it cool Pete, play it cool. “That’s really neat!”

(Y/N) nodded, “Yeah. It’s fun, I guess. Kinda annoying sometimes but nothing awful.” 

“I know what you mean. One time my algebra textbook got stuck to my arm and it wouldn’t come off. I had to like, sleep and shower with it on all day.” (Y/N) laughed at Peter’s retelling of his sticky situation. 

“That must have sucked!”

“It did. Eventually, I got it to come off, but it was annoying to sleep with.” 

“Oh god, I can imagine. Sometimes I fall asleep and a fully grown watermelon or pumpkin is next to me in bed.” 

Peter almost snorted, but he held it back. “Free food, I guess.” 

“Yeah— a nice perk.” 

-

The two wandered aimlessly around the mansion, talking about everything— freshman, classes at their schools, hobbies, friends— everything. 

Peter was going to ask for her number. Maybe ask to see her outside of the mansion. Possibly on a date… If he wasn’t too nervous.

“Could I… get your number?” Peter held his phone in his hands tightly.

“Yeah! Yeah, totally!” (Y/N) recited her number while Peter typed it in his contacts. He shot her a message. 

“I texted you. So you have my number now.” 

“Cool thanks.” Peter felt his phone vibrate in his hands and he glanced down at it.

Mr. Stark: How’s it going with Mother Nature?

Peter: Great! I got her number. I might try to ask her out on a date. Will I be free on Friday?

Mr. Stark: You don’t usually come over on Fridays.

Peter mentally shrugged. Tony was right, Peter usually didn’t go to the Avengers HQ on Fridays. 

Mr. Stark: We’re gonna be leaving soon. I’ll let you know when.

Peter: Ok

(Y/N) was also on her phone. “Sorry! Mr. Stark texted me. I don’t want you to feel like I’m ignoring you or anything.”

“You’re fine. Jubilee was just messaging me.”

“About what?” 

Her focus went back to the screen. She gasped. “Oh my god! We have to go downstairs, come on!” (Y/N) grabbed Peter’s hand and sprinted down the halls. 

“Where are we going?” He asked.

“The Jet hanger downstairs. They’re back!” 

Peter frowned and furrowed his brows as they went down the stairs. “Who’s back?”

“The X-Men.” 

-

Peter was about 99% sure he shouldn’t have been downstairs. If the school had a level of secrecy to it, why would he be allowed to know all this stuff? To see the X-Men and their jet and training room and everything.

Then again, he was an Avenger.

(Y/N) and Peter weren’t the only ones in the hanger watching the black jet land. Professor Xavier and the other Avengers were there, along with a few other students Peter didn’t recognize. 

The jet doors opened and people started walking out. The first one was a young guy, no older than Peter, with brown hair, a blue suit, and a red visor on. Next was a blonde woman in a white bodysuit that was styled almost like a dress. She looked familiar, but Peter couldn’t remember why. Wit the blonde woman was a big, furry, blue man. He had on a suit similar to the boy from before, minus the visor. Finally, two more boys came out. One had silver hair, goggles, and his suit was a metallic ice blue with a white lightning bolt on it. 

The last guy had lines all over his face and giant, metal, wings. 

Peter turned to (Y/N) to ask who everyone was, but she was gone. 

“WARREN!” She engulfed the winged boy in a bone-crushing hug. 

Peter squinted his eyes a little in confusion. (Y/N) didn’t mention a Warren. Who was Warren? A friend? Her brother maybe even?

“Hey, baby. I missed you.” Warren placed a kiss on (Y/N)’s forehead. 

“Aww no love for me?” The silver-haired guy whined.

“Piss off Pete.” (Y/N) laughed. 

“By the way! There’s someone I want you guys to meet… This is Peter, and he’s an Avenger.”

“You’re an Avenger? My sister is an Avenger! Wanda, you know her—“

“Yeah, Wanda is really nice.” Peter was trying to take both the guys in and figure out (Y/N)’s relationship with the blonde.

Then Peter noticed it. Her eye color. It hadn’t changed all day, she was happy and excited to meet Peter. He thought maybe she was into him— but now…

Her eyes were pink. What does pink mean? 

“And this is my boyfriend, Warren.” 

Peter felt his heart drop, or maybe break. He wasn’t sure, but he felt his world get flipped upside down. (Y/N) has a boyfriend?! 

“Nice to meet you.” Warren and Peter shook hands. He tried not to seem too dazed. 

“You too… (Y/N) didn’t say she had a boyfriend…” Peter noticed the silver Peter was gone but didn’t press on the matter.

“Oh?” Warren rose his eyebrows and looked at (Y/N). “Trying to keep me all to yourself?” He teased.

“Maybe… You don’t know…” Warren chuckled and kissed the top of her head again. 

“Hey, Angel! We’re gonna do a write up with Beast and shower.” 

Warren rolled his eyes, “I’ll join you later Cyclops.”

“Mystique said now.” 

Warren huffed, “I’ll be back in like an hour, baby.” He pecked her lips before leaving. “Nice to meet you, Peter.”

 “You too…?”

Tony and the others walked over to Peter and (Y/N). “How’d you like the school, kid?”

“It was really cool. I like it here. It’s almost like a college campus or something.” Peter was still too focused on the fact (Y/N) had a boyfriend. A really cool, attractive, powerful, mutant, boyfriend. Peter couldn’t compete even if he wanted to!

-

Everyone walked back to the main entrance room. Peter walked slightly behind the group. (Y/N) asked Bucky questions about his arm. “Does it weigh a lot? Warren’s wings do. His posture isn’t great because of them.” 

Mr. Stark walked slowly to meet up with Peter’s pace. 

“Why’re you down? Sad we’re leaving?”

“No,” Peter mumbled. “It’s not important.” 

“Did someone say something to you? (Y/N)’s boyfriend? I can kill him if you want. I know his dad.” 

“I just… I didn’t know, (Y/N) had a boyfriend. I thought maybe she was into me, I guess. Most girls don’t like me and she said her eye color changes based on her mood and she was excited the whole time we hung out, but I guess it’s like that for everyone.”

Tony put his hand on Peter’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m sorry, Peter… There’ll be other girls though.”

He nodded, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine. Just kinda sucks.” 

“I get it.”

-

“I’m gonna bake some brownies. I know Warren and Peter really like them and they’re probably hungry. Do you want to stay and have some?”

“Thank you for the offer, (Y/N),” Steve said. “But we really have to get going.”

She shrugged a little. “Alright, maybe next time. It was so great to meet all of you! You’re all really cool. Tell Wanda, Peter said hi.” 

“Will do.” 

They were all about to get in the car and go. 

“Bye Peter! I had a lot of fun today. If you’re ever in the area text me. We should really hang out sometime.” (Y/N) hugged him, and Peter hugged back, trying not to seem sweaty due to nerves.

“Yeah, definitely… Bye.”

The Avengers got in the car and drove away.

-

“I love you, but sometimes you’re a little oblivious.”

“Am not!” (Y/N) scolded her boyfriend. 

“Peter was definitely into you. He almost passed out when you said I was your boyfriend.”

(Y/N) poured flour into a bowl starting her brownies, “He was probably just intimidated by your wings.” Peter doesn’t like me… Right?

Warren kissed the top of her head before walking over to the fridge to get a drink. “You’re cute when in denial.” 

“Shut up!” She joked.

[grapefruitsketches]

Untamed Spring Fest - Day 9: Shower

A few months ago, the rain would have meant little to Mianmian - she would continue her usual activities inside instead of outside, but Carp Tower or whatever lavish accomodations the Jin clan had arranged for some journey would feel no more limiting than the outdoors when they were stuck inside its walls. She stood now under the leaky roof of a porch, shivering. She hoped someone was home, because if not, she would need to break in and she did not need that kind of hassle right now.

She had been on the road for a few months now, travelling from place to place, dealing with minor disturbances whereever she could. Sometimes, she would be paid when more wealthy families were being harassed by any variation of ghosts or demons, but most of the time, she didn’t ask for any money. How could she condition someone’s life and safety on their ability to pay her for skills she had no other use for anyway? Especially not now that she was starting to understand just how extravagant the Jin lifestyle was - and how difficult life was without the support of a clan with a seemingly bottomless wallet.

The first time she had been paid, instead of booking a room at an inn, like any reasonable person would have done, she had marched straight to the nearest market and purchased the first set of clothing that was anything but a shade of yellow or gold. She had given her old robes to the first person she had seen begging on the street - a woman whose eyes had lit up in shock at the extravagant fabric. She wanted nothing more to do with the Jin clan, with clan politics, but those robes had been warm, and, standing in this current storm, she hoped that the woman still had the robes, that someone was making use of them, that something good had come out of her life with the Jin clan.

Even this long after storming out of Carp Tower, thinking about the events of that day made her eyes well up in fury. What had happened to the clan she had loved? Why had Jin Zixuan - a man who only a few years before, had been the only one to challenge Wen Chao’s demands for their swords, been silent as she argued for reason to guide the clans’ decisions? What had happened to the friend who had defended her against the evil and sadistic attacks of Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao?

She knocked at the door again, and sank to the floor, exhausted. She had been sleeping only under trees or, on occasion, in a stranger’s spare room. Neither of these were exactly recipes for a relaxing night. She hadn’t realized how much safer she had felt in her previous life merely because she had always travelled in a group.

She was just contemplating whether it would be better to try and get in through a window or to break through a door when someone approached down the path.

He had an umbrella, and while Mianmian couldn’t see his face, she could hear a gentle, happy humming breaking through the patter of rain. As he turned onto the short path to the porch, he looked up. He was homely, and would certainly not have been made part of one of the entourages of the clan leader and heirs at Carp Tower. He would have been, at best, one of the foot soldiers - cultivators there to make up the numbers, but hardly suitable to impress. Mianmian’s hands curled into fists, one gripping her sword out of habit. She had to stop thinking like that.

Ever since she had left Carp Tower, she had increasingly realized that her previous clan had been missing something fundamental. Beauty, extravagance, and grace - those were nice, but she would not have met half the people she had had the joy of meeting had she followed those principles. She would not have won half her battles if she had valued doing so elegantly over doing so effectively.

The man had stopped humming. “Do we know each other?” He asked mildly. It wasn’t impolite, just, surprised.

His innocent confusion comforted her. This man was not a fighter, was not someone who even contemplated the possibility of someone showing up on his porch to do him harm.

She gave her most diplomatic smile, and rose to her feet, dusting off her pale pink robes, “No, I don’t think so,” she said, unsheathing her sword and clasping her hands together as she bowed, “I am Luo Qingyang of…” she paused, knowing how she now introduced herself, but still not used to it, “Lanling.” No longer of the Jin clan.

She watched the man blink, gaze travelling from her face, to her sword. His eyes widened. The sword was the only thing she had left from her life before. It was extravagant, clearly not something just any traveler would carry. It marked her as a cultivator - and, at that, probably one trained with a fairly prominent sect. That she didn’t introduce herself as part of any clan had raised suspicions against her more than once since she left.

She readied herself to defend her presence, to try and explain why someone who ought to be supported by a clan was begging for free room and board at a random country house.

She wondered whether it would have been better if Wei Wuxian hadn’t saved her from Wang Lingjiao all those years ago. She certainly would not have been invited to be in Jin Zixuan’s entourage after the Sunshot Campaign if she’d had such an ugly brand across her face. Someone else, perhaps the woman she’d once considered a friend, who had been so quick to turn on her as soon as Mianmian saw fit to challenge the majority, would have been at Jin Zixuan’s side instead. If Mianmian’s face had looked like that, perhaps she would not have faced so much skepticism when people learned she was traveling alone. Of course the Jin clan would turn away someone like that, they would think.

To her surprise, the man didn’t comment on the absurdity of the situation. He merely clasped his own hands together and bowed, “I am honoured, my lady. Please, come inside. It is far too miserable for anyone to be alone out here.”

Soon after, Mianmian was seated by a freshly stoked fire, being offered a cup of tea by this rather nervous man. She smiled, and accepted the cup graciously. She took a sip. It was rather weak, but she told him it was delicious. He seemed pleased.

“I was just able to get some of that tea on my most recent journey - it is a specialty of Yiling, very hard to get locally, but - I’m a merchant you know.” He explained beaming with pride. She took another sip and was now able to recognize the tea as exactly what he said, only it had been so inexpertly brewed that she never would have recognized it if he hadn’t told her. She nodded in agreement, embarrassed at herself for even internal criticism of his best efforts to make her feel welcome after she had landed on his doorstep.

The house had only one other door that she could see, and whether it led to a bedroom or a closet, she couldn’t tell. Perhaps her host slept on the blankets piled in the corner. She wondered if the other Jin cultivators of her generation would laugh to see her in such modest accommodations. She took another sip of tea and decided she didn’t care. It was warm, she and her host were slowly drying from their impromptu outdoor showers.

“Tell me about Yiling?” She asked politely. She had overheard gossip at an inn back when she was traveling through Yunmeng that Wei Wuxian had formed a small colony there, followed by a number of details she was sure were exaggerations. She hoped this was not the kind of thing that interested the merchant.

To her delight, he launched into deep descriptions of the environment, the food, the accents, the people. She found herself leaning across the table, lured in by his vivid descriptions of a world totally absent the politics and frivolities of the cultivation world. After a solid 5 minutes of this, and without her wanting it to end, he cut himself off, laughing a bit as he rubbed the back of his head.

“But what about you? I’m sure my little adventures must be terribly boring to someone of your upbringing? I’m sure it all sounds silly to you.”

Mianmian shook her head earnestly, “No. No it sounds wonderful.”

The minutes passed, and they shared stories. The hours passed and they shared histories. Mianmian left the next day but found herself coming back to visit again and again until she thought of the adorably awkward merchant’s tiny house as something of a base. Years passed, and she thought of it as a home.

One day, she had mentioned the concept of cultivation partners in passing. He had looked to her then and asked, “Is that what you want? To go on night hunts with someone by your side? To not be held back by a mere merchant? I don’t want to hold you back. Go if you want.”

“No!” she had said, laughing and offering a quick peck on the lips, “I would never want anything that meant I would have to be with anyone but you.”

“Oh… I meant… well” he blushed, “I would go with you, of course? I mean I wouldn’t be able to support you in battle,  but… I would go, I could even try other ways to make money! If you wanted me there, of course.”

Mianmian felt a smile stretch across her face, a smile far from elegant, a smile of pure, unmitigated joy, ungraceful in its genuineness. Such an expression, now familiar to her, would never have been possible in her old life, the one that now seemed a distant memory.

“Yes!” she breathed, “Yes, yes, yes. If you would come, if you would be there, if you don’t mind moving from dangerous place to dangerous place, of coming home only occasionally?”

He laughed, pulling her in close, “If I were traveling with you? As long as I am with you I will never be anywhere but home, safe and sound.”

Even though the cultivation world never spoke of her, and none would ever remember her name, she did not abandon her calling. She would never ignore the signs of a night hunt or cries for help. She traveled the world with her merchant, now her ex-merchant, now her husband, then soon a daughter as well. They would come into a village, leaving joy behind when they left, only seeming to grow their own in the process. It was a smaller world, a simpler world, than the one Mianmian had known in her youth, but ultimately, she thought, this one was far more noble, far more beautiful, than any major clan could ever hope to see.

[mamawolfblood]

Though he didn't know it yet Chris Mclean was in for a shocking revelation. One of the campers is not exactly just some rando kid. This camper is his kid and she is out to expose it.

Name : Iris  Escalona

Age 16

Eye color green

Caramel skin

Black hair that she keeps in a high ponytail. A Cherokee rose on the left side of the hair tie.

Iris is 5ft 8",135lb

Out fit-White tanktop with the alchemists symbol blue acid washed jean shorts black converses

Iris has a dark sense of humor. She loves horror,pranks,is resourceful. Iris is not above smashing some skulls together. She is not quick to anger but Heather pushes a lot of her buttons.

All her life she just wanted Chris to know she was alive. Her mother never gave the reason why she left. She is the oldest of seven children.

________chapter 3_________

• Chris: Last time on Total Drama Island, twenty-three campers arrived and learned that they'll be spending the next eight weeks at the crusty old summer camp. The campers we're faced with their first challenge, jumping off a cliff into the shark-infested waters. While most campers took the plunge, a few were forced to wear the dreaded chicken hat. At the campfire ceremony, it all came down to two campers, Courtney has experience as a CIT in summer camp, but refused to jump, and Ezekiel managed to tick off every female at the camp with his sexist comments about women, in the end, the first camper voted off Total Drama Island was Ezekiel, proving that homeschooling and reality TV don't mix, who will be voted off this week in this dramatic campfire ceremony yet? Find out tonight on Total... Drama...Island.

Iris woke up early and snuck into the kitchen.

It looked a mess it was four in the morning so she needed something to do.

(Confessionals)

Iris looked into the camra

"Ok so ever since I was ten I wake up at four in the morning. Some nights I don't even sleep. Doctors can't figure out why but hey at least I can do something before the challenge starts."

*Static*

(End of Confessionals)

Iris was almost done cleaning when Chef walked in. "And what are you doing up?" Chef said crossing his arms. "Sorry Chef woke up at four and couldn't go back to sleep. I decided to clean the kitchen to help you out. If you need help cooking I can do that too." She said still scrubbing. "Awe thats real nice of you sweetpea. But I can take it from here go get washed up. The mess hall looks great. " Iris stood up saluting him. He did the same to her and she went to the showers.

(Confessionals)

Chef

That girl is a sweetheart. I haven't met a kid who would just clean without being asked. Her parents raised her right she will make a man happy one day.

*static *

(End of Confessionals)

Iris walked into the mess hall. Chef had a cup of coffe ready for her. "Here you go sweetie thanks again for cleaning the place up." He said making her bluch. "No problem if you need any help you can always ask."  She said sitting down. "Why did you clean this dump?! You never do anything nice." Courtney came over before Iris could take on sip of her ainti murder juice. Holding up one finger Iris took a drink. "Ok child now that I had a caffeine shot I can speak. I wake up a four am every day. Why I do not know I just do. Some nights I don't even sleep. As for doing something nice goes. Unlike you I was raised to help someone when I physically can. You were shelter from the world thats why your a spoild brat.  Do you want me to spill what it was you did to my brother, or are you going to sit back down like a good girl?" Iris was now glaring at the pampered princess. Courtney like any other teenage girl that doesn't get her way, stomped away with a "Ahh!"  I waved her finger at the child.

Chris walked in "alright campers time for your challenge. Both teams will complete one lap around the Island. The team that completes the race first wins. "  Trent asked about breakfast. "Oh you will eat after the race. Ready set go!" He laughed as everyone ran.

Iris pov

It was a nice warm up but ,I doubt that this is the actual challenge.  When we made it back to the mess hall a buffet was waiting for us. It was so beautiful I wanted to cry. Though something sinister is happening here. This is a set up so I'm not going to eat to much. I saw cranberries the kind you get on Thanksgiving and chowd down. It was refreshing everyone else asked why I wasn't eating anything but Cranberries. "Think about it why would they give us this food. It's a plot for the challenge. Trust me I want to chow down with all of you." I said making them shrug and go back to eating. Courtney was glaring at me. I think about it the guy that asked me the question was Duncan.

(Confessionals)

Iris started laughing.

"Oh she is a treat I will thoroughly enjoy this."

*Static*

(End of Confessionals)

"Hey Duncan can you step outside with me? This won't take long." I said standing up. He shrugged and followed me outside. Once we were out of ear shot I turned to him.

Meanwhile in the mess hall.

Courtney pov

"They have been gone for awhile. I'll go check on them." I said having campers telimg me to leave them be. Iris is a conveying snake you can't ever trust her.

"Hey guys what are yo-Ah!" I walked out to find them making out. I march up to them and pull him away getting in her face. She smirks at me. "Hello Courtney how can I help you?" She chuckles "You can help me by not macking on my teammate you snake." I growled

(Confessionals Duncan, Iris)

Duncan

"If she is a snake and thats her bite. Please bite me some more."

*static*

Iris

"*laughs* oh wow I was right she likes him. This is going to be a fun day for Duncan and me. He is on board with the plan. Obviously he is enjoying this too. *smirks* bey bey second place Courtney"

*Static*

Iris pov

Duncan stood between myself and Courtney crossing his arms. "I think you should run inside. You don't own me there four have no say in my actions." He said wrapping one arm around me. I place my hand on his chest the top of my head under his chin. I was side glancing at her. She growled stomping away. Once she was gone we bust out laughing.  He picked me up bridal style carrying me inside. "This is mine no one else can have her." He said sitting me down at my seat we started to feed each other. "Can you two get a room?" Heather complained. "Can you get a new attitude." I said making her gasp.

Once the buffet was cleared Chris came back in. "Everyone ready for the awake athon!" I knew it and they say I'm a snake. "Wait so you had us eat all this food so you can see who will fall asleep first?" Gwen asked "Yes Gwen Yes I did" I laughed "oh that so evil its good."  I said "Glad your finding this amusing lose lips" Courtney said  "Hey they are open for you too." I wink at her. "Your disgusting " she said following Chris to the pit fire. I sat in Duncan's lap during the challenge to get on princess sunshine's nerves. Its almost night fall I'm about to fall asleep. Duncan puts his hand on my cheek "got to stay awake gorgeous. How can I look into those beautiful eyes if they are closed?" I giggle at the sickeningly sweetness. "Let her fall asleep at least I won't be second place. " Courtney said  laughing "oh your second place in everything so shut up. " I said before glares at her.

Its now been twent-four hour mark. Come on stupid bass fall asleep. I thought to myself. It was now Myself, Trent,and Gwen for the Gophers and the Bass only had Courtney and Duncan.  Once Chris started to read the history of Canada Courtney, and Trent fell asleep.  Leaving Gwen, Duncan and me. "I have to hit the can" Duncan said as the camra crew followed him. Gwen fell asleep I was about to when Chris announced that the Gophers won. I smile before falling flat on my face.

• [The Killer Bass are standing outside of the cabins, stuff are outside due to Eva throwing them because she can't find her MP3 because Heather stole it.]

•

• Eva: [screaming angrily] Where is my MP3 player?! One of you must stolen it, I need my music! No one is going anywhere until I get my MP3 player back! [She angrily throws a book, which almost hits Harold]

•

• Courtney: Okay, whoever took it better give it up now before she destroys the whole camp.

•

• Heather: Hey, guys, wow, this place is a real mess.

•

• Courtney: Someone stole Eva's MP3 player.

•

• Heather: [holds Eva's MP3 player] Who don't mean this to you? [Eva is surprised that Heather found her MP3 player, which Heather actually stole it] I was wondering who it belonged to, I found it by the campfire pit. You must have dropped it.

•

• Eva: Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!

• Heather: Sure thing. [Leaves. Static buzzing, in the confessional] Turn a team against their own members, easiest trick in the book. (Static buzzing)

• Eva: [smiles sheepishly] So, sorry about the that little misunderstanding. [The Killer Bass glare at Eva] Guess no one stole it after all. Okay, maybe I overreacted a little. [Laughs sheepishly]

Iris and the Gophers watch the marshmallow ceremony of the Killer Bass. It was down to Alpha geek Harold and wack Job Eva. Both looked nervous until Chris gave it to Harold. Wow did not see that one coming. They threw away their strongest team mate. Welp looks like the Gophers have it even easier now.

Chris "you All can get some sleep tonight you all are safe for now. Find out what happens next time on Total Drama Island."

(Have I mention how much I don't like Courtney yet. Well I don't have a great day/evening)