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al3x1ss · 4 years ago

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Just a friend to you

Chapter 15: What are you doing New Year’s Eve?

“DOLL HURRY THE FUCK UP IM HUNGry!”

Opening the door, she stares at Osamu as he finishes screeching. Hearing the door click, he turns suddenly, his face going from annoyed to immediately brightened.

“Y/N!” He says, his voice going high pitched as she giggles, giving him a quick hug, then hugging both Suna and Atsumu. Bending over slightly, Atsumu allows Y/N in his back, the 4 now traveling to a cafe with Y/N holding Suna and Osamu’s pinkies, Atsumu keeping his arms tight around her legs.

As the 4 eat, Y/N is quick to stare at Atsumu who has checked his phone about 6 times in the past 5 minutes of eating.

“Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Atsumu?” The boy drops his phone, his eyes immediately widening as he hears a small collision from where his phone was dropped. He picks it up, dusting it off and placing it down before looking at the girl across from him.

“One of my friends is around the area-“

“You have friends besides us?”

“SHUT UP Y/N!” He sighs, stabbing another piece of his meal with his fork as he looks at her again.

“I met her when we were partners for a project and we just clicked and stayed as friends.”

Suna and Y/N being oO-ing as Osamu pokes his side repeatedly, with Atsumu swatting his twin’ hand away quickly.

“Wait- a lady friend? What kind of sane female would deal with your piss ass willingly?”

“YOU DO!”

“No, I was forced by Mother Miya.”

After the endless bickering, Suna takes the check in hard, heading to the counter as the twins and Y/N wait outside.

“Would you guys mind if said lady friend joined us?”

Samu shook his head no, while Y/N also said no, speaking for herself and Suna who had just exited the doors of cafe.

After 2 minutes of waving, a new face comes towards the group with a smile and a wave. Atsumu waves back, going towards and and smiling.

“Guys this is Keiko, Keiko this is my twin Osamu, that’s Y/N, and then that one over there is Suna.”

Hearing his name, Suna’s eyes lifted, falling on the girl in front of him. His eyes widened, afterwards a quick smile following. Turning his eyes to his feet, he scratched the back of his head.

“Oh my god!” Y/N’s eyes widen as the girl, a smile immediately coming on her face.

“I love you’re earrings so much, Keiko!” Both girls smiled at eachother, Keiko getting on one knee.

“I have determined that you are sweet as fuck as that I want you to marry me.”

“I have determined that I accept.”

With Keiko getting up with help from Y/N, the two link arms, beginning to walk to their next destination. The boys blink repeatedly, staring at eachother then staring at the two girls giggling.

“Samu what the fuck just happened?”

“I don��t know Suna, I don’t fuckin know.”

The twins argue over the frog hat with Suna holding out his phone, getting content for his Instagram followers is what he says is “his only passion in life”. Covering her mouth, Y/N laughs, pulling out her phone with her other hand to see a text message.

“Who’s Keiji?” Keiko asks, Y/N’s eyes now facing hers.

“Well-“

“LET GO OF THE HAT YOU OLD MAN!”

“AT LEAST MY HAIR DOESN’T LOOK LIKE I GOT PISSED ON!”

“OH YEAH MR.MY BONES HURT AT PRACTICE CUZ I GOT ARTHRITIS! WHAT KINDA EXCUSE IS THAT?”

“BETTER THAN THAT SAD EXCUSE OF YOUR DYE JOB!”

Y/N’s eyes widen, gently grabbing Keiko’s wrist as the two back away from the boys. After being enough away, Y/N sighs, placing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Long story short, best friend of 3 years, I liked him for 3 years, confessed and got denied, and now we just talked a few days ago after like a month of not speaking and it being awkward.”

“Well I mean, do you still like him?”

“Uh-“

“Alright lads, let’s bounce.” Atsumu says, walking up with Suna and Osamu behind him, the girls looking at eachother before nodding.

The 5 enter a small pizzeria, with Atsumu and Keiko’s stomachs growling as soon as they entered. The 5 laughed, with Y/N handing her jacket to Suna while she went to order with Osamu.

“Hi! Can I get a large cheese pizza with a side of-“

“Suna?”

Hearing his name, he lifted his head, looking at the other two at his table to see them also looking around. Turning to look at the door, he sees Kaori with her fellow manager, along with their very own setter and ace.

“Oh, hi guys.” Suna says with a wave. Atsumu and Keiko look up to see who Suna was talking too, with Atsumu smiling and Keiko giving a shy wave.

“Hey! You guys are just eating?”

“Yeah, Samu and Y/N are ordering now.” Atsumu says, pointing over it to the counter with Y/N poking Osamu’s cheeks.

“Cool, well enjoy your meal! We should totally hang out sometime!” Bokuto says, following Yukie to go to a table, with Kaori dragging a tired Akaashi along.

Plopping down, Kaori and Bokuto look at eachother before nodding, sitting straight back up.

“I can feel 3 pairs of eyes on me, what.”

“Akaaaashiiii, don’t you think it would be nice to, oh I don’t know, please can we invite them ice skating?” Yukie says, staring at him with large eyes from across the table.

“Are you asking my permission or are you asking me to do it, because I’m very comfy.” He murmurs, his head laying in his arms.

“I’ll go ask!” Bokuto says, getting up while the other girls nod. Akaashi sighs, rubbing his eyes carefully as to not irritate his contacts as Bokuto walks to their table.

With the twins messily eating, and the rest starring st them as if they were pigs, Y/N sees another figure approaching, smiling at Bokuto.

“Hi Bo! They told me you were here, what’s up? How ya been?” Y/N asks, wiping her hands on a napkin before looking back at him.

“I’m well, thank you! So the rest of us were wondering if you 5 wanted to come with us to go ice skating? Obviously we haven’t met you yet,” he says as he gestured to Keiko, “however any friend of Y/N’s somehow becomes a friend of ours! And I’m not complainin’!” Bokuto says, his hands landing on his hips with a bright smile.

Looking at Suna and the girls, Osamu nodded, turning his eyes back to Bokuto as he smiled.

“We’ll be there.”

Lacing up her skates, Y/N got on the ice and began to skate around, seeing some of her friends on the ice while Atsumu and Bokuto were still on the bench trying to figure out how to tie them.

“Sometimes I’m shocked he’s a third year.”

Turning around, Y/N faces Akaashi with a small smile on both of their faces.

“It surprises me as well.” She said, both of them beginning to skate next to eachother. With Akaashi looking around at the lights, Y/N turns her eyes to face him.

To her, it was strange. To not feel the butterflies, the rollercoaster in her stomach each time he said hello.

“You excited to see the fireworks?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun to ring in the New Year with you guys.” Akaashi says, a smile coming to his face as he looks back at Y/N.

The two turn straight, Bokuto waving over Y/N as she nods, getting ready to skate towards him.

“Hey, Kaashi?”

“Hm?” He says, turning back towards her.

“Save me a seat.” She says, giving him a small wave and proceeded to skate towards Bokuto, said male waving and beginning to skate as she caught up.

The pair speak amongst themselves, speaking of their holiday and upcoming plans for New Years. For a few minutes, Bokuto surprisingly goes quiet, prompting Y/N to nudge his side.

His eyes turn towards hers, curiosity on his face.

“Hey, I just had a question.”

“Yeah, shoot.”

Bokuto’s eyes face forward as she still looks at him, his eyes turning again as he nudges his head. Y/N’s eyes follow in the direction to see Osamu skating with Kaori and smiling.

“Does Osamu like you?”

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Osamu turns, seeing Y/N staring at him. He smiles, giving her a wave then returns back to his conversation with Kaori.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“And there’s one minute on the clock folks!”

The group of friends all sit huddled together in the cold, while other bystanders around them buzz with excitement, confetti and snow flying around already.

Kaori shows Y/N tiktoks, with Akaashi occasionally looking over her shoulder, the uproar of the already booming noise blasting.

“Hey Y/N?” Hearing her name, she leans closer to Akaashi to hear him better

“Yes Akaashi?”

“I just had a question”

“Go ahead.”

“Maybe it’s much too early in the game.”

“Oh, but what the hell, I thought I’d ask you just the same”

“I really enjoyed tonight, Y/N.”

“Me too Akaashi, me too.”

“So”

“What are you doing next New Years Eve?”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Notes

Akaashi does not like Y/N

Y/N does not like Akaashi

The Inarizaki friend group has had this tradition for about 3 years, but they all agreed having more friends with them was nice

For once I’m going to give clarification :D

Akaashi was talking about all of them hanging out on New Years Eve, he wants to do it again next year even though this year just began

Atsumu and Keiko are NOT dating

Atsumu and Keiko do not like eachother

Suna does not like Keiko

Keiko does not like Suna

Back to Masterlist

C. 14 <- C. 15 -> C. 16

Tagging: @winunk @kurushiisaboss @lexysclubhouse @haikyuu-appreciation-club @pumpkiethepie @mint-mai @writingfreakk @tendousfingertape5 @bbyouamazin @navymacaroons @helloalex80 @heavenini @tchalameme @foxxtrot-116 @kageyamasgirl @noya-sleftankle @mariachiii @rory-cakes @sailorstrawberi @iidanotlida @animeflower26 @anngelllla @kneekoteen @reina-de-tay @ish-scribbles @javj @little-dark-empress @athenarosaline @sugawaras-simpsquad @elianetsantana @peteunderoos @thatswhatmakesyoumiserable @ntimacy @i-have-randomthoughts @420-uwu @halesandy @immxnty @yamayoomi @ohmsjedi @tazzi-baby @marissaraeblr

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honeymoonshimbos · 4 years ago

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All-Stars

HI! This piece is one I’ve written in a collab my best friend and I are doing. I don’t have ao3, so I will be posting my works here. However, they have already uploaded the first chapter here https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311690 The AU explores the characters in a more domestic, wholesome setting through a series of one-shots all centered in this universe we have created. There are emotional scenes and funny scenes. It will break your heart and mend it back together, like any good au will. I really do hope you consider checking out that chapter and giving my best friend support.

For the sake of this one-shot, some context will be necessary. In this au, Dio (adopted) and Jonathan are in their thirties and are the older brothers of twins Johnny and Joseph (19), Jotaro (17), Josuke (16), and Jolyne (14). Their parents, George and Mary Joestar, have tragically passed, so Jonathan is stepping in as a caretaker for them. Giorno (15) is Dio’s son. Diego Brando (26) is Dio’s brother from his biological mother. That being said, all of these relationships are explored and bring a fun dynamic to the AU.

SO, without further ado, here’s the GyJo you came here for.

“Hey, Gyro? I think I’m ready.”

He didn’t even have to ask what for. Gyro knew. He had been sitting back with Johnny, and the two of them were on the topic of tattoos. Gyro was showing off one he found on the internet that he was thinking about getting, but he didn’t know. He didn’t know where to put it either, so until he figured that out he was refraining. But Johnny… he had this plan since he was 15, and he’s told Gyro about it before one night when the two of them were up too late in each other’s arms knowing they had to be awake for class in just a few hours. A lot of their nights went like that.

Johnny Joestar used to dream of getting 9 stars tattooed onto the back of his right hand. One represented each of his siblings, one represented his nephew Giorno, and two represented his parents. After the accident happened, Johnny couldn’t bring himself to do it. He would always love his parents, don’t get him wrong, but even just thinking about the tattoo made him so sad. It reminded him of his life before it all went to shit. It reminded him of when his parents were still around and how he wanted to show it to them after he asked for money for his 18th birthday from everyone so he could go have the tattoo done.

His 18th birthday was long passed. His desire to get the tattoo faded along with his normal life, and up until now it rarely even crossed his mind because he forced it out so much. Thinking about it was painful. It was easier to just give up the idea until he was ready, if he was ever ready.

Gyro made Johnny an appointment with his tattoo artist, and Johnny got to work drafting an idea. It wasn’t like he wanted anything complex, but going in blindly and completely trusting someone to permanently ink him without giving just a little example of what he wants was scary, despite how much Gyro trusted the guy. Gyro’s opinion was worth the world to Johnny, and he trusted him a lot, but this was his body they’re talking about here.

Regardless, Johnny had a draft drawn up with the size of the stars and the colors he wanted. When the day finally came around, Gyro and Johnny went to the tattoo parlor. The two waited their turn at the reception desk, and Johnny looked super pale. “You know you don’t have to do this, right? We can go home, pick up some McDonald’s on the way.” There was a McDonald’s right around the corner from Gyro’s apartment, they’d be all set.

“No, Gyro. I want to do this.” He felt… good. This was a good decision. This was something he needed to do. This was something he avoided doing because he knew it might upset him. It’s not like this will be a tattoo he regrets, though. His family will always be his family. He isn’t having a lover’s name inked onto his arm, or someone’s face on his leg. These were simple stars to represent his loved ones. And when he places his hand against his heart, they will all be there too.

Moments later, the receptionist called them up. They got checked in, and then the artist emerged from a hallway with another client. He usually walked them out. When he saw Gyro, he gave him a small smile. “Good to see you, Gyro. This is Johnny?” He turned to the smaller man. Johnny observed the weird shape of his beard, and the hair on his head too. His barber must be a professional to get a grid-like look like that!

Gyro was pleased to see an old friend, greeting the man in a hug before stepping back. “Yeah. This is Johnny,” he introduced him, then looked toward Johnny and continued the introductions. “Johnny, this is Wekapido.” With that, Gyro made a demonstrative hand in Wekapido’s direction, as if presenting him to Johnny.

Cool. Okay. Awesome! “Good to meet you Wekapido.” Johnny said. Regardless of the lack of smile, Gyro knew he was happy.

“Likewise,” Wekapido said. “Alright, come with me.” He led the two of them down the hall. There were various rooms in the hallway, some of the doors open with artists sitting in chairs on their phones, or washing their hands. Other doors were closed. Wekapido entered one of the empty rooms with an open door, holding it for the others before gesturing to the sink. “So, Johnny, why don’t you wash your hands and then we can get started.

The room was small. There was a sink and counters where a lot of the equipment was kept, things Johnny didn’t recognize. He didn’t know what most of these things did. The room was just large enough for a bench, a stool, two chairs by the door, the sink and counter, and some wiggle room. This was a tough space. Johnny did as instructed after his sky blue eyes took in the room. He washed his hands, then dried them with a paper towel. After he finished, Wekapido invited Johnny to sit on the bench and get comfortable. While Johnny did that, Wekapido washed his hands and got some of the materials ready. Johnny handed over the little sketch outline he made.

Gyro pulled up one of the chairs from next to the door and set it down right beside Johnny. He took a seat with his chest pressed against the back of the chair, manspreading and all. Bless Gyro and his inability to sit like a normal human being. Setting his arm against the back of the chair, Gyro picked up Johnny’s left hand in his own, just rubbing his fingers before kissing his knuckles. Mwah! Some green for you, Johnny. The grin on his lips revealed the little mark he left to Johnny before Johnny even saw his hand. “Are you nervous?”

Of course he was nervous. Gyro could tell, couldn’t he? There was nobody like Gyro. Johnny just looked over at him, taking a look at his vibrant eyes and the sweet, mischievous smile on his face, unable to fight a soft smile of his own. He reserved all of his smiles for Gyro, and recently they’ve been showing themselves more and more frequently. Only for Gyro. “Yeah, kind of. I’m excited too.” He didn’t tell anyone he was doing this, not even Joseph, so he was really eager to surprise everybody.

Nodding in response, Gyro gave Johnny his best attempt at a reassuring smile. “I’d bet. It’s going to look so pretty, Johnny.” Honestly, it was really cool that Johnny was doing this, and Gyro was honored to be selected to accompany him today. They were getting really serious. If this was the rest of his life, with Johnny, he would be beyond satisfied. “I love you. Squeeze my hand if it hurts.” Gyro already suspected it might hurt, bad. Johnny was tough, but when Gyro was around he tended to be a bit of a baby.

“I love you too.” Turning his hand around, Johnny grabbed Gyro’s and laced their fingers up together all nice, just in time to see Wekapido approaching, ready to go through with the inking. Oh, god. Here it goes. Johnny’s pretty blue eyes widened a little when he saw the needle. Quickly, he looked over toward Gyro. “Why did you let me do this??” He asked in a whisper-hiss. Gyro just laughed and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He knew Johnny would be so grateful later.

He absolutely was.

A few hundred “GYROOOOOOO!!!!!!”s later, Johnny got a tattoo! His hand felt a little sore, numb for sure. The skin was red and swollen, irritated, but it would calm down with time. One of the good things about hands is that they heal faster than a lot of other parts of the body since they’re used so often. Thanks, for the fun fact, Kira.

The two of them were in the car, on the way to the Joestars’ for dinner so Johnny could show off his sick new tattoo. In the passenger’s seat, Johnny rubbed the ten stars with his opposite thumb, but stopped when Gyro took his hand. Touchy-feely Gyro was a giant teddy bear and a big snug bug. Johnny didn’t mind it one bit. He turned down the radio and looked over toward Gyro with a smile on his face. His side profile was one to admire while he drove. Shining lime eyes illuminated by the setting sun, his patchy facial hair His skin was rich and smooth, glowing a warm tone. Long, dirty blonde hair framed his face and fell down his shoulders, to his mid-back. It was thick, luxurious, the hair of a Roman God. What a beautiful man…

“So, Johnny… What would you say if I proposed with a ring with stars on it? It would match your new tattoo so nice.” There he goes again. They were stopped at a red light, so Gyro turned to look at Johnny, waiting for his reaction.

This wasn’t the first time Gyro asked him something like this. Johnny always assumed they were some twisted, weird jokes. He had an odd sense of humor after all, wouldn’t it make sense? Although there was a small sparkle in his baby blues, Johnny rolled his eyes. “Stars on an engagement ring? The ring will be too small to even see it.” Regardless, Johnny had an appreciation for Gyro’s jokes.

Yeah. Stars on a ring was kind of a stretch. Testing the idea with Johnny wasn’t, though. Gyro just let it end there since the light changed. He was usually more on the aggressive side when driving, but kept himself in check with Johnny around. The last thing he wanted to do was make him uncomfortable, right? He was confident in his abilities to provide Johnny a safe environment, safe enough for him to realize it one of these times when Gyro brings up engagement again. The security veil of jokes was one Gyro could always fall back on when Johnny got irritated, like he did the first few times Gyro ‘joked’ about that kind of stuff. For now, he was alright with them being perceived as harmless jokes.

It wasn’t long before the two of them arrived at the Joestars. It wasn’t a birthday or a holiday or anything, more just dinner with the family. A few other cars were parked outside. Gyro recognized Caesar’s. He parked by the curb and took the keys out of the ignition, turning to look at Johnny who was already releasing his hand and getting out of the car. Gyro actually wondered what it was like to be this close to his family. Gyro was never this close, maybe with Caesar but that was it. He followed Johnny up to the door.

It was Josuke who greeted Johnny at the door; he was most likely in the living room anyway. As Johnny peered inside, he got a glimpse of Okuyasu on the couch. Yep. They were in there. Johnny conveniently lifted his right hand and waved with it. Much like a newly engaged woman in a rom-com, he was absolutely drawing attention to his hand.

“Hey guys- WOAH, Johnny?? When did you get that? Can I see it?” Josuke asked, very eagerly as he already grabbed Johnny’s hand and held it up for closer examination. While examining that tattoo, he stepped back from the door so that Johnny and Gyro could come inside. With a reaction as strong as Josuke’s, attention was grabbed. Okuyasu was looking at the tattoo after not even a few seconds, and then in came Jolyne, Joseph, Caesar, Jotaro, Kakyoin, Giorno, Dio, Jonathan, and Robert were gathered around, looking at Johnny’s hand, fawning over his tattoo. Even Diego Brando was here looking at it. To Johnny’s surprise, he said it was cool.

“Dammit, now people can finally tell us apart,” Joseph cracked a joke, grinning before he pulled Johnny into a hug. “Damn, it looks good though.” After unhanding his twin, he looked at it again. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the first tattoo of the family! Dio had none, Joseph had none, and did Jonathan really need to be mentioned? Mom and Dad didn’t have them either.

Silent approval even came from Jotaro, in the form of a nod and a small smile. Jolyne expressed her specific admiration and had to remind everybody that she too planned on getting a tattoo once she was old enough. Then, Jonathan spoke up. “It’s beautiful, Johnny. What does it mean?”

There was the question Johnny was waiting for. Admittedly, he kind of wanted to show off. He held up his hand, and with his left index finger he began to point out the different stars. “One of these represents each of my loved ones,” he said. “A star for Jonathan, Dio, Joseph, Jotaro, Josuke, Jolyne, and Giorno… And then one for Mom and one for Dad,” Johnny explained. There was one star unaccounted for. He pointed toward the star right at the base of his thumb, where his index finger connects. “And one for Gyro.” One for Gyro, of course. Gyro deserved a spot in Johnny’s Hall of Fame. Gyro didn’t even expect a star. He stood beside Johnny, a proud smile on his face before he simply turned and wrapped Johnny up in the biggest Gyro bear-hug he could manage. From the look on Johnny’s face, he was pleased. Patting Gyro’s arms, he got a look at everyone around. Dio was giving an approving nod, Jotaro too. Josuke and Jolyne were fawning over the fact that their older brother got a tattoo. Giorno was admiring the aesthetic of the tattoo, Joseph was brought to tears, and Jonathan just surged over and hugged Johnny too. Johnny was now sandwiched between two big hugs, it was really pleasant.

“That’s beautiful, Johnny.” Jonathan told him after pulling away. So easily moved to emotions as he got older… “Take it easy, though, it looks swollen.” After Johnny insisting he was fine, the emotional moment had passed. Joseph was sniffling all through dinner, though. He was so proud of Johnny. That’s his twin right there!

Dinner went well, as was expected with a Joestar family dinner. They were chaotic, and there sure as hell were a lot of people trying to fit at one large table, but it was always fun. Johnny picked up a few more belongings from his room to take with him to Gyro’s. He was doing it a little at a time, so slowly his room was becoming more and more scarce. Upon arriving home, Gyro packed away the container of leftovers he had been given to keep. Johnny put his stuff in a spot in Gyro’s bedroom. Gyro moved his stuff around to make spots for when Johnny wanted to bring his things over. It was a beautiful thing. The two were so happy together.

Gyro showered before bed, Johnny laid down and watched YouTube. He would shower in the morning. He didn’t want to deal with his tattoo right now. After Gyro got in his pajamas, just his boxers and an old OLD t-shirt that was somehow the comfiest thing in the world, he got in the bed beside Johnny, wrapping his arms around the smaller blonde. It’s CUDDLE TIME. Gyro couldn’t sleep if he wasn’t clutching something, and his giant teddy was elsewhere.

Luckily for him, Johnny settled into his chest. He made such a nice little spoon. Johnny set his phone on the nightstand so it could charge overnight, and he just settled into the comfort of Gyro, his hands against Gyro’s. Safety was best achieved in Gyro’s arms. However, Gyro soon picked up Johnny’s hand, his sensitive tattooed hand, and brought it up to his lips. Gyro pressed a single little kiss, right where his index and thumb met.

Right where his star was…

“Goodnight, Johnny,” Gyro said, Johnny’s name rolling so smoothly off of Gyro’s tongue like it always did.

Johnny could hardly take it. The smile on his face was so big, he could hardly bring himself to reply. He did, though. He couldn’t leave Gyro hanging like that. Johnny wanted him to know just how happy he was that he did that. It was the sweetest thing. “Goodnight, Gyro. I love you.” Just to solidify it, he gave Gyro’s hand a squeeze.

His Italian man practically purred, clearly pleased. “I love you too.”

#gyjo #jojo #jjba #jjba fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #jjba fanfic #jojos bizarre adventure #jojos #jojos part 7 #steel ball run #steel ball run fanfic #gyjo fanfic #gyro zeppeli #johnny joestar #jojos bizarre adventure steel ball run

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jade4813 · 6 years ago

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A Lie, Told Often Enough, Chapter 17

Author Notes: Inspired by @fallinginloveinaflash‘s AU prompt. All credit for the idea goes entirely to her.

Title: A Lie, Told Often Enough

Rating: NC-17

Synopsis: Iris just landed her dream job at a PR firm and her first assignment is reforming the bad boy image of celebrity artist Barry Allen. He’s overly cocky and well-known for being a playboy, but Iris has never met a challenge she couldn’t handle.

Chapters: 17/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

He had almost told her the truth.

He’d been thinking about it for weeks. Wanting to tell her how he felt. He’d even rehearsed what he was going to say as he combed his hair in the morning and climbed into bed at night.

He’d almost told her when he first saw her there, standing at the side of the stage. But with all those people around, he hadn’t been able to find the words.

He’d almost told her again when he saw her backstage, after the show. But then he’d realized she was dressed in nothing but a towel and all thoughts of a confession had fled.

After making love to her that night, with her curled up in his arms. But she’d fallen asleep. In the morning, in between sleepy kisses. But then fear crept in. What if she didn’t feel the same way? What if it ruined everything?

The courage only came when it was too late, and so he’d told her he wanted to talk to her about their future and let her go so she wouldn’t miss her plane. Because they weren’t words that should be hastily blurted as she rushed out the door.

But he wanted to tell her he loved her. He didn’t think he could bear to keep his feelings secret much longer.

“I’ve been thinking a lot. About our future. And I don’t want to lie about us anymore. I want this to be real. Iris, I’m in love with you. Whatever direction my life goes in the future, I want it to be with you. And we don’t have to really be engaged right now, if you aren’t ready for that, but I want to go on a date. With you. A real date. What do you think?”

Barry grimaced at his reflection as the muttered question left his lips. That was terrible, and not just because he was practicing his confession around a toothbrush as he got ready for bed. He made a living through words; why was it that every time he tried to find the perfect words to tell Iris how he felt, he sounded like an eighth grader asking his first crush out to the prom?

Scowling, he finished getting ready for bed and then grabbed his phone. He could text her. No, that was a terrible idea. There were two things Barry firmly believed should never be done over text – breaking someone’s heart and confessing your deep and abiding love for them.

Over the phone? It wasn’t much better. Less impersonal than text, to be sure, but it still felt like the coward’s way out.

So what was he going to do? He had to tell Iris he loved her. He had to know if there was even the slightest chance that one day she might feel the same way about him.

He began to pace back and forth, muttering mangled bits of previously rejected confessions. And then he had an idea. In two nights, he was performing a show in Star City. It wasn’t part of the official tour, but billionaire Oliver Queen had booked him for an exclusive event – a surprise belated birthday party for his sister, Thea. Normally he wouldn’t have tried to squeeze an extra event into an already packed tour schedule, but Thea had been a fan from the very early days of his career, and he and Oliver had struck up an unlikely friendship over the years. He suspected they both felt the same internal conflict of trying to live up to society’s expectations while also feeling inside like they might have been destined for more.

At any rate, given Oliver’s love-hate relationship with publicity, he should be able to offer some guidance, even if his love life had historically been something of a wreck. He seemed to have found more solid footing in his relationship with Felicity Smoak, so Barry hoped he would have some words of wisdom to share. Whatever he said, it had to be better than Barry’s own pathetic attempts at confession.

“Barry! You were amazing!” Thea exclaimed as she threw her arms around him in a big hug. “Thank you for agreeing to do the show. I don’t know how my brother talked you into it; I know you’re busy with your tour.”

“Anything for my number one fan, Thea,” he said with a smile, returning the embrace.

Stepping back, she grinned up at him. “Do you mean number one as in ‘biggest’ or in the ‘I knew you before you were famous’ kinda way?” she teased.

He faked a grimace. “Don’t remind me.” He’d first met Thea before he hit it big, right after he and Cisco formed their band and spent their weekends playing for drunk college students at frat parties. She’d attended one of the parties in question and had approached them after to say she thought they had a lot of talent. She’d offered to help bankroll their first album, with the help of her personal trust fund, but that was in the days before either man considered music a viable career and they’d turned her down. And so, when hobby became passion project and passion project became a career, Barry ended up making connections in the music business on his own. But the memory of Thea’s faith in him had helped him resist the temptation to give up in the early years, when faith in himself was sometimes hard to find.

“Hey, just remember, we could have been partners!” she replied, though her words came with a smile that promised him she didn’t bear a grudge for turning her down, all those years ago.

Barry laughed and caught her brother’s eye as he approached for a hug of his own. “Yeah, but then I’d have to put up with this guy more often,” he joked.

“Oh, you’re right. Good call, then. Definitely not worth it.” Thea laughed at her brother’s scowl. Meanwhile, Barry stepped past Oliver to greet his girlfriend, Felicity, taking an awkward moment to decide if a handshake or a hug would be more appropriate. In the end, they both settled on a stilted one-arm embrace, quickly ended.

As he pulled away, he heard Thea gasp. “Oh, my god. She came!” Her voice was an excited squeal as she raced past Ollie towards the door. After glancing towards the doorway, her brother mumbled a promise to return in a moment and followed.

“Who’s that?” Barry asked, watching as Thea threw her arms around a tall brunette in a black dress that could have been painted on.

Next to him, Felicity shrugged, grabbing a drink off a passing waiter’s tray. “Laurel. Amazing Laurel. Lovely Laurel. Perfect Laurel.” When Barry glanced at her, she added, “Lovely Laurel who used to be Oliver’s fiancé. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard about her miraculous return from the dead?”

“I’ve been on the road!” he cried defensively. He knew of Laurel and Oliver’s past from his years of knowing Thea in college, but he hadn’t realized she’d returned. Though he supposed in the past several weeks, he had heard snippets, fragments of news stories while flipping through the channels at night before crawling into bed. Watching the woman smile at Thea and ignore Oliver completely, the pieces started to come together.

Laurel Lance had been Oliver’s on-again-off-again ex-fiancée. The week after college graduation, the two had taken a private cruise on the Queen’s family boat to repair their somewhat fractured engagement. The ship hit a storm, and Laurel had gone overboard. Her disappearance had been covered extensively – as had the Queen and Lance families’ efforts to find her. Her body had never been recovered, and she had eventually been presumed dead. Her father, Quentin Lance, had made it very clear that he held Oliver personally responsible for his daughter’s death.

Over the last few weeks, Barry had heard snippets of stories proclaiming the miraculous return of Laurel Lance, as well as her reluctance to give many details on where she’d been in the intervening years. The name had sounded vaguely familiar, but he’d flipped channels and hadn’t given it sufficient thought to remember why.

“That must be complicated,” he remarked, following Felicity to a table to take a seat. Seeing the scowl on her face, he asked, “I know it’s none of my business, but you’re not, um, worried about Oliver, are you?”

“The press keeps asking me the same thing, curiously enough. They won’t leave me alone about it.”

“I don’t mean to pry,” he offered apologetically.

Felicity sighed. “No, I know. It’s not you. The truth is, it’s not about Ollie. He swears that his feelings for Laurel are in the past, and I believe him.”

There was enough reluctance in her voice, that he prompted, “But?”

“But,” she parroted, drawing out the word before letting her voice trail off again as she stared into her drink. Finally, she lifted her gaze to his. “Ollie is the love of my life, and I don’t regret a single minute I’ve been with him. But his life is so public, every moment I’m with him is like living in a spotlight. I can’t even leave the house now without press asking me what I think about the unexpected return of his ex-girlfriend. I can barely get five minutes alone with him to talk about it.” She threw him a wry smile. “I love him, but sometimes I wonder. If I’d known what being with him was going to be like, would I have called in sick that day at work when we first met?”

Barry didn’t know how to respond to that, so they sat in silence until they saw Laurel give Thea another hug. Then she turned, said a few words to Oliver, and left as he made his way back to the table.

Some time later, the party was winding down and Barry found himself alone at the table with Oliver while Felicity chatted with Thea. Not certain if they were good enough friends for him to intrude, Barry chose his words carefully as he ventured, “Hey, are you okay?” When Oliver shot him a look out of the corner of his eye, he added, “You’ve been kind of quiet tonight. You want to talk about it?”

Oliver threw him a grim smile. “I take it Felicity told you about Laurel?”

“I could have heard it from the news,” he protested slightly.

Oliver grunted and shook his head. “It’s okay. I haven’t really been there for her lately. Not like I should have been. I’m glad she talked to someone.”

Barry took a sip of his beer as he considered his next words. “She wants to be there for you, you know.”

“I know. I just can’t stop thinking about my mistakes. About everything that happened with Laurel.” At his companion surprised look, he grimaced. “Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s not that I want to be with her now. I’m not the person I was when I was with her, and maybe losing her the way I did is part of the reason why. Living with the questions and the guilt, maybe it made me grow up a little.

“But I can’t help but wonder what happened to her that night. What she’s been through. I look at her now, and I can see that she’s not the woman she used to be. Maybe she’s better. I don’t know. But I can’t help but think that whatever happened to her, it’s my fault. She wouldn’t have been on that boat that night if it wasn’t for me. So I feel like even knowing me ruined her life, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.”

It was still dark outside when Barry awoke to the sound of his phone ringing insistently on his hotel room nightstand. Keeping his eyes closed, he rolled over and grabbed for it, answering it with a grunt that approximated an incoherent hello.

“Mr. Allen. I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought you would want to know about this right away.”

It was Ralph Dibny, a member of his security team. Responsible for Iris’s detail. In a split second, Barry was instantly awake, clutching his phone in his fist as he sat bolt upright in bed. “What happened?”

Iris was alone. It wasn’t just Barry’s absence that made her feel so lonely. There was nobody she could talk to about it. Nobody she could confess her feelings to. Nobody who would understand. Almost everybody she knew thought her relationship with Barry was real, and everybody else thought it wasn’t. The truth was somewhere in the middle, and nobody would understand that. So Iris was alone.

She ducked her head, foregoing a struggle with her umbrella as she raced to the door. She ignored two flashes to her left, even as she recognized some grudging admiration for the dedication necessary to stand out in the rain on the off chance they caught a photo of her.

It was exhausting, and she had no idea how Barry managed it for so long. It was only bearable to her because it was worth just about anything, loving him. Being with Barry made her happy. Everything else – the fans and fame and paparazzi around every corner – was just a distraction. Window dressing. Stuff and nonsense. It was part of the life he led, and so she accepted it as the price she paid for loving him. But she would have been just as happy without it, if it meant walking up every morning with him in her arms.

“When I get back, we should talk. About our future. There’s something I-I need to tell you.”

She smiled as she remembered his words because she realized he was right. They needed to talk. She needed to tell him that she loved him. That she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. That she was tired of pretending like it was all an act when, for it, it had become all too real.

For so long, she’d struggled to hide her feelings, afraid of what would happen if he discovered that she loved him. Afraid he wouldn’t love her in return. The thought was still frightening – terrifying, really – but if she’d learned anything from living without him for these last few weeks, it was that she didn’t want to live that way anymore. She didn’t want to have half of him and lie to herself that it was enough. Maybe she would lose him, telling him the truth. But if she kept her silence, she would lose him anyway, once his contract with Mason concluded.

“When he gets home, I’m going to tell him the truth,” she whispered to herself as she slid her key into the lock and twisted. The storm had picked up, and she hunched her shoulders to block out the wind and rain. “Once life with him is back to normal.” She turned the knob in her hand and stumbled inside, her wet feet sliding a little on the polished tile. Slamming the door behind her, she leaned against it, groaning, “God, I can’t wait for life to get back to normal.”

She heard a sound and opened her eyes to find Barry standing in the middle of his living room, staring at her with an inscrutable look on his face. Behind him, she saw that he’d already set two places for dinner, and she could tell at a glance that he’d gone all out to impress her. She blinked, frowning slightly, as it took her a second to realize that it was real, that she wasn’t imaging things. He looked so good in ratty old jeans and a faded t-shirt; it was hard to believe he was truly there.

“Barry!” she yelled, launching herself off the door and into his arms. His arms almost crushed the breath out of her as he lifted her off her feet.

He was home, and she was in his arms. Right where she belonged.

There are times in life that everything comes together perfectly. All the pieces fall into place, and you feel like everything has been building to one moment. The universe conspires to give you one perfect moment. Maybe you turn left instead of right, and you meet that one person who can give you your first big break. Maybe you duck into a coffee shop instead of rehearsing before a show, you see a woman’s smile from across the room, and something deep in your soul recognizes you were born to love her.

But sometimes things go the other way. Sometimes it feels like the universe is conspiring to rip your heart out of your chest and break it into a thousand pieces. Though she couldn’t possibly have known it, Iris’s words, muttered as she leaned against the door, were that last piece falling into place. Everything in the last few days was coming together to break Barry’s heart.

“I love him, but sometimes I wonder. If I’d known what being with him was going to be like, would I have called in sick that day at work when we first met?”

“Knowing me ruined her life, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.”

“Iris is fine, but there have been some developments that you should know about…”

“God, I can’t wait for life to get back to normal.”

Barry held Iris to him, burying his face in her hair. His arms trembling like it was the last time he would ever hold her this way.

“I wasn’t expecting you home tonight!” Iris cried, cupping his face in her palms and pressing her lips against his.

“Iris has been getting some threats online. She doesn’t think it’s anything to worry about yet, but I think we should increase her detail until we know for sure. Some people have been threatening to show up at all her public engagements to tell her to leave you alone. Mostly the usual threats, but what is concerning is that they have said enough to suggest that they have gotten their hands on her schedule somehow. And that is a concern…”

“I wasn’t expecting to be here. But I had the evening off, so I thought I’d come see you.”

“We recently caught someone peering into the apartment windows. He didn’t try anything, and luckily, she wasn’t home. She had gone to see you…”

“Oh, I’m so glad you did,” she breathed, pressing her forehead against his.

“But when my guys caught him, he was carrying pictures of her…”

Barry tried to ignore the voices in his memory to focus instead on the woman in his arms. “I made dinner. Are you hungry?”

Iris laughed. “Starved.”

They sat down to eat, and at first, he cold pretend like the rest of the world didn’t exist. But the voices didn’t leave him alone.

“I love him, but sometimes I wonder. If I’d known what being with him was going to be like, would I have called in sick that day at work when we first met?”

“Knowing me ruined her life, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.”

“He swears he didn’t intend her any harm, but who knows what would have happened if she had been home…”

“I can’t wait for life to get back to normal.”

God, she’s beautiful, he thought as he stared across the table at her, her smile illuminated by the flickering candlelight. But then he remembered the sadness in Felicity’s eyes. The regret in Oliver’s. And the weariness and longing in Iris’s voice when she’d longed for the life she used to have.

“I love him, but sometimes I wonder.”

“I ruined her life, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.”

“I can’t wait for my life to get back to normal.”

He couldn’t put it off any longer. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for what he needed to do. “Iris, when you came to see me, I told that you we need to talk about the future…”

“I remember!” she interjected. “And, actually, I wanted to talk to you about that, too. Barry, I –”

“I think we should end this. We can wait until the tour is over, if you want. I mean, I did promise to be there for you, and I don’t want you to think I’m not. But we should talk to Mason about how to announce the end of our engagement when the tour is over. We should start preparing for it now.”

Iris froze and stared at him with wide eyes. Unable to hold her gaze, Barry let his drop to the plate in front of him, which is when he realized he’d barely touched his food. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

He heard her make a soft sound, a nearly inaudible clearing of her throat. When he looked up at her again, he saw that her face was devoid of expression. “Oh,” she breathed, carefully putting her fork down on her plate before dropping her hands to her lap. “I – um – I guess I am surprised. I thought you wanted to wait until you were offered a role that demonstrated your image had changed…”

Barry winced into the silence that fell when her voice trailed off. Then he shrugged. “I did, originally. But I’ve been thinking about it lately, and who knows when that will happen? Or even if. I can’t ask you to put your life on hold for something that may never happen.”

“You’re not asking me to put my life on hold. We have an agreement, remember?”

“I know,” he answered, somehow made even more miserable because she sounded so calm, so unaffected. “But still, I-I think it’s time to put an end to it. I’m sorry.”

Iris cleared her throat, louder this time, as she took a sip of her wine. “Don’t apologize. This is business, right? That’s all this is. Business. So why are you sorry?” Silence fell between them, and she worried the corner of her napkin between her hands. “All right, have you thought about what you want to say? How you want this to go? I should probably take the blame for the breakup so—”

“No!” he cut her off. “That is one thing I am sure about. We can say that we grew apart while I was away or that we realized that my being on the road so much was going to be too hard. But I will take the blame. Not you.” He reached for her hand, but she either didn’t see it or she ignored it because she didn’t reach back. “I don’t want to make this any harder on you that it’s already been.”

Her smile was tight as she tossed her hair behind her shoulder and flung her napkin on top of her unfinished plate. “It’s not that hard, Barry. Like I said, this is business. Business arrangements end all the time. Right?” He was too miserable to respond and wasn’t sure what he would say anyway, so he did what he had learned early in his career to do when he couldn’t find the right words. He stayed silent.

“Well, I suppose you have a point,” she mused, pushing her chair away from the table. “If you announce that you were the one to end it, people won’t be as surprised when they hear you found someone else to date on the road.”

Barry shook his head, reaching for her again, but she stood and started to pace, ignoring his hand. He rose to his feet behind her. “That isn’t what this is about, Iris –”

“No, of course not,” she cut him off. “This is just the inevitable conclusion to the agreement we made. But they don’t know that, and we don’t want them to know that. We don’t want them to ever know all of this was a lie. Every single second of it. So you have to do the smart thing, and that means being seen dating someone else. When the time is right, of course.”

She spun on her heel to face him. “You’re right. You should be the one to break it off. Because then the world won’t see you as the one who was heartbroken. They’ll see me as the one who wasn’t good enough. That’s better.”

“That’s not what I want,” he protested, grabbing her shoulders to stop her pacing. He stared into her eyes, willing himself to see something. Any indication that he had meant something more to her. That all of this had meant more to her than just a business transaction. But perhaps it was better that he didn’t. At least he knew he hadn’t hurt her.

“Why not?” she asked. “It’s the truth.” When he started to protest, she gave a quick shake of her head. “I mean, it’s the truth we need them to believe. We need them to think that you’re still the good guy, or all of this has been for nothing.”

Barry didn’t know which hurt more – losing her, or knowing she didn’t care if he did. “I-I should go,” he blurted abruptly, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door. “I have a show tomorrow.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll have all my stuff out of here by the time you return home.”

“No, that’s –” he began to protest before realizing how absurd it would be to try. He was breaking off their pretend engagement. She could hardly continue to live with him under the circumstances. “I-I don’t want to lose you, Iris. You’ve meant too much to me.”

It was the first time he saw a reaction from her as she winced at his words. Her gaze fell to the floor, but her eyes were hard when she looked up at him again. “Don’t be silly, Barry. None of this was real. You know that better than anyone. And you can’t lose something you never had.”

He could no longer stand to hear the truth or see it in her eyes. So he fled. He’d been afraid he was going to break her heart, but it turned out the only heart he broke was his own.

#a lie told often enough #barry allen #iris west #fanfiction #my fanfiction #rock star au

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living-dead-parker · 6 years ago

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12 Days of Christmas; Charity Event - P.P

Summary: Day 4 - The night of Y/N’s annual Christmas charity event approaches and Peter learns some awesome news! Also, who knew Peter could be so cheeky?

Warnings: cussing maybe, fluff, and sexual innuendos

Word Count: 2k

series masterlist | masterlist

The glass and diamond Tiffany's ornaments shimmer under the light you shine upon them. Peter plugs in the cord into an outlet, illuminating the 14 foot Christmas tree that would later be auctioned off. Its monetary value was at around 20 thousand dollars, as a lot of the ornaments were from Tiffany's and most of them were custom made. Along with that, the star was made with some 24K gold. It's also a 14-foot tree so that in itself is pricey. Next to the large tree stands a table with all sorts of other auction items. After inspecting the tree, you move on to the kitchen, checking to see that the kitchen staff is all accounted for and had everything they need.

The doors would open soon and the guests would be arriving not too long after. The room has a warmer feel than it did last night as the room is illuminated in warmer colors. Yellows, reds, and some greens here and there. Lot's of gold too. You fix the wrinkles in your red dress, matching the same dress Morgan is wearing. She chose matching dresses, and you agreed, thinking it was a cute idea. The dresses were red and reached a bit above your knees. They had a black belt with a yellow buckle under the bust and had some white cotton-like material at the ends of the sleeves. The dress came with a matching red overcoat with the same white cotton-like material on the lining of the coat. You both even have matching Santa hat headbands. However, she wears the small kid heels with the straps while you wear knee-high boots.

Peter walks up behind you, pressing a kiss to your cheek. Turning, you can't help but bite your lips as you check him out. He's in a burgundy suit with his hair slicked over to the side. You press a kiss to his lips, wanting him close to you. However, you hear someone clear their throat, causing the two of you to pull away.

"Hey, I'm not old enough to be a grandfather, so please stop."

You roll your eyes playfully, pulling your father into a hug. He wraps his arms around you in a tight hug, giving you a kiss on your forehead. He's always been super close with you, often confiding in you with so many things he feels he can't tell Pepper. Not that he doesn't trust Pepper, he just doesn't want her to be disappointed in him, so he usually tells you things first. When Tony pulls away, he walks over to the table set up in front of everybody and takes a seat at his usual spot. You see Pepper taking her seat, followed by May, Michelle, and Ned. Morgan is with Pepper and it feels like it's the first time this week she's left your side. You didn't mind having Morgan at your hip because you wanted to lay down the foundation of your relationship with her early on. That she can count on her big sister with anything, and never to be scared to talk to you.

Once the others were settled, you walk over to the back hall as the doors are being opened. Gently, you push Peter up against the wall, holding him in place. You press a kiss to his lips, wanting him to stay in place. When you pull away, he chuckles, smiling down at you. His hands rest on your hips as you check the time. You have five minutes until you both head out, so you make sure to take advantage of the time while you can.

"Peter, this year, you're hosting with me." you tell him. His eyes go wide, unsure of how to feel about that.

"W-what? What do you me-"

"I didn't want you to see the posters or any promotional stuff for the event because I had a surprise for you. I know I should've told you before, but I didn't want you to back out last minute from pure fear," you tell him with a guilty smile on your perfect lips. Peter's brows furrow deeper, a look of pure curiosity in his eyes as he looks over at you.

"Why? What did you do?"

With an innocent smile, you wrap your arms around him. "I may or may not have put you as Co-runner for the event. As in, we plan, structure, and host the event together. I wanted to try the hosting this year and see if you liked it. See if you wanna have a role in this whole thing."

Peter's eyes are wide and his cheeks become blushed as he looks over at you. He hesitates to answer at first, but eventually, he does come around, smiling at you. Peter checks his watch and notices there's only one more minute left. So, he holds his arm out for you, which you eagerly take. Once the clock says six sharp, you open the door, grabbing the two mics on a small table near the very door. You hand one to Peter as the crowd cheers for the two of you.

Giving it a couple minutes the crowd eventually calms down. "Good evening everyone!" you speak into the mic, not once tearing your arm from Peter's grip. "I'm Y/N Stark and this is my boyfriend and co-host for tonight, Peter Parker!"

"Good evening, everyone," Peter says as he nervously plays with the cloth of your jacket. He looks at you as you begin to speak.

"This is the fourth annual Stark Christmas Charity Event and we welcome you to enjoy a night of entertainment and fun. Tonight we have some musical performers and comedy acts. We also have a special message from my father, Tony Stark!" you say excitedly. You and Peter head over to the table as Tony stands up from his seat.

"Welcome everyone," he starts, his voice loud and proud. "I just wanna say that I'm proud of Y/N for planning this and making it all a reality. I myself wanted to start something like this, but I never really knew how to execute it or where to start. Seeing my daughter work everything out night and day for the past 12 months was such a fascinating experience as she takes her work seriously and does everything with love and passion."

Tony takes a seat and suddenly, everyone's focus is on Peter as he begins to speak. "Please enjoy your meals, the bar is only one dollar per drink and we will open up the dancefloor later on in the night," Peter explains. He goes on to introduce the first act of the night, some comedian who is up and coming. Tony felt he was promising and that he could get laughs out of everybody.

As the night went on, everybody seemed to have a good time. Laughs are shared through the night, people are up and dancing to the performers and everyone seems to be feeling good. You were slightly infuriated when you saw that Adam Wesley and his father showed up that night, but fortunately enough, they never approached you or interacted in any way. Peter hosting was becoming easier to him and while he didn't want to admit it, he was a natural. This took May by surprise as he was typically shy and never one to have the spotlight.

"Once again, I'd like to say thank you to everybody here. It's time for the auction portion of the night. So, here we have my good friends Michelle and Ned passing around the bidder numbers. Take one and we will record the numbers of every winning bidder," you state. Peter walks up to you, deciding to help with the auction.

Once everyone is settled, you begin again. "The first item of the night is a travel package. A two week stay at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay resort in Bali. Each villa has its own private pool, as well as options for floating breakfasts, rose baths and it's located near plenty of nightlife. Opening bid starts at five hundred dollars."

Each item, bids came in left and right. Tony always liked to be the first to bid high, wanting to set the price a bit higher. So when people did bid, he'd manage to get the prices somewhere in the thousands. Each prize was hitting it out of the park and the final item was up on the podium now, and everybody was intrigued.

"The next item is the signature Stark Christmas tree. Adorned with custom-made Tiffany's ornaments, a gold-encrusted star, and diamond encrusted ornaments, amassing a height of 14 feet, this tree starts off at 15 grand," you state. The paddles go up and the bids start. By the end of it, the tree is sold for 50 grand.

"That concludes tonight's auction and tonight's event. Thank you all so much for joining us and helping out with our cause. We hope to see you all again next year. Good night!" you exclaim excitedly. The crowd cheers and everybody stands up, saying goodbye to other people they know.

People begin to approach you and congratulate you and Peter on the night's success. They mention how fun it was and for the first time in a while, you see Peter feeling comfortable talking to as many people as he is. Even May, once again, is shocked to see Peter openly speak with all these businessmen and women. By the end of it, Tony and Pepper decide to call it a night, taking a sleeping Morgan with them. After an hour, the room clears out and now it's just you and Peter, standing under the warm lights in the room. His hands are resting on your hips and your arms wrap around his neck.

"Thank you for tonight, Pete." you whisper. He shakes his head as he looks into your eyes. Slowly, the two of you begin to sway side to side. Leaning down, he presses his lips to yours as the two of you dance to nothing.

The kiss is sweet and passionate as he pulls you closer to him. He tastes like peppermint and peach schnapps, which takes you by surprise. He notices as you stop kissing back so he pulls away and looks at you.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Not that I'm totally against it, but were you drinking tonight?" you ask him. He playfully rolls his eyes and chuckles as he continues swaying side to side with you.

"I just had two and my spidey metabolism won't even let me get drunk, trust me." he tells you. With a giggle, you nod, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"How did I get so lucky to get you?" you ask. Peter shakes his head, quick to shut that down. But you couldn't agree more. You were more than lucky to be with him and that's a fact.

"If anything, I'm the lucky one. I don't deserve you."

"Don't say that. You're literally the best person in the world, I don't deserve you. You're so nice and cute. You make me happy and you're selfless-"

"And you are all of those things too. You aren't like all the other rich snobs who rub it in people's faces and you're so hot. Like, I often find myself in shock that you chose me of all people." Peter says, causing you to get all warm inside, becoming putty in his grip. He giggles at your reaction before leaning down to kiss your neck.

"Morgan will probably be sleeping in your parents' beds tonight, we have your room all to ourselves tonight and I am on such a high from hosting tonight and that Santa dress is doing you no justice-"

"Oh shut it, let's get out of here then," you respond, grabbing his arm and pulling him along to the exit.

"Christmas is coming early for me!" Peter says excitedly.

"If you say something like that again, you won't be at all," you say through giggles. Peter can be really cheeky, but it's one of the many things you love about him.

"I know I've been naughty, but I can be a good boy," Peter continues.

"That's it. The mood's been killed. I was gonna be a ho ho ho for you tonight but those privileges have been taken away now, Parker."

Please leave me requests/asks. Also, leave feedback or talk to me about anything!!

Taglist (let me know if you wanna be added/removed): @bookgirlunicorn @bands-and-shietz @wolfgamzee

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the-walking-memelords · 6 years ago

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Allegiances: Chapter 16

Series is rated M

Word Count: 6191

The final showdown between Clementine and Lilly.

Read it on Ao3!

Read it on Wattpad!

Warning for Graphic Depictions of Violence

The silver beams of the full moon guided them through the dark, twisting branches of the forest as the kids marched towards their final battlefield. The stars danced above, bidding the teens good luck on their mission.

Anxiety ran high at the possibility of failure. Being killed, or worse, being captured was a fate Clementine tried desperately to push out of her mind.

We push on, we fight on, we look forward, never back.

Clementine held her head high with her eyes trained forward at the path ahead as her boots stomped through the dirt. Her fingers fiddled with the strap of her quiver, making sure it was fastened securely as she gripped the metal bow in her other hand.

A smooth draw.

It was truly the best weapon the school had in their arsenal, but it couldn't compare to even a revolver. God, she wished she had a gun. Yonatan's rifle had been missing from his corpse once the dust cleared. Such a precious weapon no doubt snatched back by one of the other soldiers.

The burning orange glow of the distant torches cut through the blue of the night.

“You all know what to do.” Mitch addressed the group as they reached the clearing.

“Willy, you get the raft. Ruby and Tenn, free those horses. Me, Louis, and Clementine will go after the others and plant the bomb.”

A decently solid plan.

“Only the group going up to the boat needs to douse themselves in guts.” Clem added

“If we don’t regroup before the bomb goes off, don’t wait around too long. Every walker in the county is gonna make a beeline for this shore.”

Suddenly, a bright white light flooded the area as the kids threw themselves to the dirt. The spotlight paid them no mind as it moved past, focusing instead, on a walker lumbering towards the source. A loud gunshot rang, signalling the end of that walker’s journey.

Hopefully, James brought enough of them for us to sneak past her.

The kids kept their heads low as they picked themselves up.

“I guess now we just wait for your walker friend to show up with his herd.” Ruby whispered.

Speak of the devil.

“Won’t have to wait too long.” Clementine smirked, seeing the masked boy accidentally sneak up behind the redhead.

“Good Lord!” Ruby tried to contain her surprise at the sudden stranger.

“Uh, hi.” James stood awkwardly as the group stared at him. This must have been his first time around such a group in years.

“Guys, this is James.” Clem introduced.

The others didn’t seem too sure how to react upon actually meeting the guy who wore human skin. Their faces mostly held mild unsettlement mixed with wonder. That is, except for one.

“You��re mask looks so cool.” Willy didn’t hide his enthusiasm but at least kept his voice down. “How do you get the skin like that? Can I try it on?”

“I... uh… Clementine?” James begged for help. Even with all of the control he held over the walkers, he was powerless against this excited child.

“Willy. Cool it.” Mitch interjected before Clem got the chance. “We got a job to do.”

“Right. Sorry.” Willy backed off, and James let out a small sigh of relief.

“It just looks so real.”

I mean, it is.

“Functional, and fashionable. I’ll take two.” Louis comment got a lighthearted eye roll from Clem and a small chuckle from James.

“The walkers will be here soon. I’ll lead them to the boat, but that’s as far as I go.” He reminded them.

“Thank you, James.” Clementine smiled before looking at the other kids. They looked back at her with confidence, which was reassuring.

“See you on the other side.”

When the group dispersed to wait out the arrival of their undead distraction, James pulled Clementine aside. She followed him to the edge of the path, where they stood just within the treeline.

“The noise from the boat will draw the herd towards the water.” He explained.

“You can join them as they pass through.”

“Then we can get on board and save our friends.” Clementine said determinedly.

A lone walker stumbled across the path, no doubt only a prelude for what was to come.

“Your friends aren’t what I expected. They’re… different. Open-minded. Accepting.” He seemed surprised.

“That’s not usually how my first impressions go. That one kid even called me… cool.”

“They could be your friends too, y’know. Once this is all over, you could come back to the school with us.” Clem offered.

“I didn’t think I could trust a group again after getting screwed over so many times, but these people are different. It really feels like a home.”

“I haven’t lived with a group in a long time but...” Clementine noticed him smiling through the hole in his mask as he thought about having a home.

“It does sound nice… I’ll have to think about it.”

James reached his hands behind his head, removing his mask and revealing his face. Clementine looked at the skin mask in his hands. Wearing it was one of the more unnerving things she’d done. She couldn't imagine wearing it full-time.

“There’s something I wanted to show you.” Nervousness crept into his tone.

The boy reached into his pocket, revealing a small plastic bag with a Polaroid photo inside. He cupped the photograph gently in his hands. Depicted in the photo were two boys, one who was clearly James several years younger, and another boy around the same age as him in the picture who also appeared to be of Korean descent. The other boy sat with his arm around James’ shoulder, the two boys smiling happily at the camera.

“This is… was… my boyfriend, Charlie. We joined the Whisperers together.” James confessed, admiring the photo with a wistful smile.

“But it changed him. In a way that couldn’t be undone. It changed both of us.”

“What do you mean?” All the stories Clementine had heard spoke of cruelty beyond all words. Closer to animals than people.

“The Whisperers were my.. Family… from a young age.” He continued, looking shaken as he recalled his past.

“I witnessed so much death and suffering. Eventually, I became the cause of it.”

James’ story began to mirror her own a little bit.

“Weakness was considered a poison, and I believed in that. Fiercely. One day, our Alpha had ordered us to attack a community that had wronged her in some way. And when another boy expressed sympathy for them…” James bit his lip as he held a hand over his face.

“...I slit his throat without hesitation.”

What?

“That doesn’t sound like you.” Clementine was taken aback by his words. James killed a member of his own group? Just like that? It sounded like he was telling the story of some other boy. It was hard to believe such a violent and bloodthirsty act came from the kind-hearted boy standing next to her.

“You killed a child?”

“I didn’t consider who he was, what he felt. Honestly, I don't even remember his name. All I knew was that someone like him would only slow us down.” James grimaced at his own actions.

“After he died, I kept hearing his words in my head over and over. ‘Those people are like us! Just on a different path!’ I stopped killing after that. I changed. But no one else did.”

Some evils just can’t be undone.

“The Whisperers preyed on the young especially, twisting their minds with their sick methods. I don’t want what happened to Charlie to happen to your friends.”

Clementine’s next words were cut off by the moans of the dead emanating from the path. Several of the undead began to emerge from the forest, following the light right to the boat.

“The herd will be upon us shortly. Soon there will be enough of them to provide cover.” James adorned his mask once again as he moved to inspect the herd’s progress.

“Good luck out there.”

Clementine nodded as she stepped out of sight back towards the clearing.

“Clem?” The small voice of Tennessee caught her attention. He played with his hands as he stood before her sadly.

“Louis told me… about my sisters.”

Poor kid.

“He said that… Sophie died… and Minnie is one of them now.” He looked down at his hands as he seemed to fight back tears for a moment.

“If you see her… can you tell her I forgive her?”

“Tenn…”

“I just want her to be happy. Where ever she decides to go.” The scarred boy said pleadingly.

“Tenn, look at me.” She knelt down to his height.

“I can’t promise how things are gonna go in there, but I can promise that I will try. If we find her, I’m going to try to convince her to come home. I mean, I changed, maybe she can too.”

“I changed, but no one else did.”

James words suddenly echoed in her head.

Would their stories end up following a similar narrative?

“Thank you, Clem.” The now smiling boy hugged her tight.

“Stay safe out there, okay?” Clementine smiled back.

“Okay.” With that, they parted ways, and Clem began to search for Louis.

---

She found Louis standing alone, leaning against a tree. His eyes were trained on the boat. The dreadlocks that swung in front of his face cast shadows that made it hard to read his expression, but Clem could guess what he was thinking.

“This is really happening, isn’t it?” He said slightly panicked as she approached.” We’re about to walk onto a boat of armed adults, save our friends, and somehow, blow that shit to hell while getting out in one piece.”

Well, when you say it like that it only sounds more impossible.

“I can take us right to the cellblock, and the boiler room is on the way.” She assured.

“The Delta will be so occupied with the walkers that if anyone is there, maybe it’ll be one guard. Between the three of us? I like those odds.”

“Damn right.” He said low.

She hoped her confidence would rub off on him. Once they were inside, hesitation wasn’t an option.

“I just don’t want to fuck this up. People’s lives are depending on us. Depending on me. God, I just…” It was clear that the stress was beginning to get to him.

“Louis, we can’t fall apart right now. Violet’s lost if we don't go. They all are.” Clementine didn’t want to think about her friends befalling the same fate as her.

“I know. I know.” He took a deep breath, stepping aside and mumbling to himself.

“C’mon, Louis. Get it together.”

“We’re going to be okay.” She tried to smile.

“Clem, can you do me a favour?” His eyes were serious.

“What is it?”

“I need you to slap me.”

Excuse me?

“Right here.” Louis pointed to the right side of his face.

“Just to help pull me out of this.”

Clementine watched him in mild amusement as he stood with his eyes closed, bracing for impact. She rolled her eyes and took a step forward.

She stood on her toes. Also grabbing a fistful of his shirt in order to reach her lips to his. Louis tensed for a moment, expecting a slap and getting a kiss, but quickly melted into it as he pulled her close. They savoured it, on the off-chance it was their last.

They broke after a moment, foreheads pressed together, their breath warm on each other’s faces.

“I uh… don't know if I feel more focused or less.” He chuckled.

“Don’t worry.” She assured him one more time.

“We’ll be home by sunrise.”

“Hey lovebirds.” Mitch called from a short distance away, startling the couple. “The walkers are ready, let's get a move on.”

---

The groans and snarls of the herd were almost deafening as the three blood-soaked teens approached. The spotlight was blinding as it pointed to the mass of the dead. The voices of the Delta soldiers could be heard faintly. Orders barked left and right. For a moment, Clementine thought she could hear Lilly among them.

The crack of a gunshot rang out as a walker a few feet to Clem’s right fell still on the ground.

“Stay behind the walkers, use them as shields.” She whispered to the two boys.

The spotlight no longer focused its attention on the herd, swinging over towards a raft of supplies floating off down the river.

“Good job, Willy.” She heard Mitch mumble under his breath.

The yelling only increased as the panicked whinnies of the horses sounded and a bright blaze of hay lit up the night.

They tried to stay relatively together as one by one the herd was thinned out. Whenever that spotlight found its way to Clementine, she dove for a walker, gripping onto its torn clothes and rotting flesh until the bullet meant for her dropped the walker instead.

More soldiers began to emerge from the boat to fight the herd just as the three reached the pier.

“We can’t risk leaving cover, we’ll have to crawl along the side of the dock.” Clementine lead them as they dipped into the freezing water. She felt a chill run up her body as they scurried along the side, gripping onto the soggy wood. The water around them became a dark red as the guts washed from their clothing. With their camouflage gone, escaping would be a little trickier.

The gap above the door was barely large enough for Clementine to squeeze through, and with walkers on the way, the time-crunch made it even more difficult. Mitch held off any of the dead that got too close as Louis boosted her up. It took some maneuvering, but she managed to twist her way in, slamming the lever to open the door.

“Let’s blow these sons o’ bitches to hell.” Mitch examined the bomb in his hands, which he somehow managed to keep dry while wading through the water.

Clementine nodded, ducking and diving through the halls of Delta, a soldier prowled around, trying to get an angle on the advancing walkers.

We’re so close.

She dove for cover once more as a raider rounded the corner, but not quickly enough.

“Who’s there?” The deep voice of the large man echoed through the metal hall. He let out a low growl before beginning to creep forward.

“Give me a damn city name.”

“Rockingham.” Clementine blurted out, hoping he wouldn’t recognize her voice.

“Well hurry up and get the fuck out there before we lose the whole ship to these things!” The man hurried down another passageway as Clem, Louis, and Mitch finally reached the boiler room.

“There ya go, Mitch’s Masterpiece.” Mitch grinned mischievously as he placed the explosive in the bottom door of the boiler.

Oh God, he named it?

Clem didn’t have time to question it before they booked it through the final stretch of their journey. Clementine was correct in the cellblock only containing one guard, but of course, that guard had to be…

“Minerva.” Clementine called to her.

Minnie immediately drew her crossbow, her brows crossed in a scowl. Clem and the others returned the favour by drawing their weapons as well.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” The redhead stared in shock at the three that stood before her, focusing her anger mainly on the girl.

“If you got my little brother mixed up in this I swear to God I will gut you before the commander gets the chance.”

Jesus.

“Tenn’s fine.” Clementine told her, still being cautious in case Minerva had an itchy trigger finger.

“He wanted me to tell you that he forgives you.”

Clementine lowered her bow as a gesture of good faith and saw Minerva’s stance become more hesitant.

“Come with us, Minnie. Tenn wants to see his big sister again. It isn’t too late.” Clem begged.

“We don’t belong to the Delta. We have a home, and it isn’t with them.”

They stared each other down for a moment before Minerva slowly lowered her weapon.

“Fine. I’ll help you get the others out. Then we go.”

The four of them searched for the cells that contained their friends.

“Clementine?” Aasim exclaimed in surprise.

Omar let out a groan as he stood from within the same cell as Aasim, limping on one leg.

“Are you okay?” Mitch questioned the injured boy.

“I’m alright, burns like hell though.” Omar said as he leaned an arm on Aasim for balance.

“Clementine, help me with Vi and Brody while they get those guys out.” Minerva lifted the latch at the bottom of the door, allowing it to swing open.

Clementine cautiously stepped inside, finding the two girls huddled away from each other against the far wall. She didn’t even get a chance to get a word out before the butt of Minnie’s crossbow connected with the back of her neck, sending her crashing to the floor. Her ears rang as her vision blurred, barely being able to process the sounds of three people yelling before her vision fully faded to black.

---

The sound of broken, muffled sobs brought Clementine back to reality. As the blurred vision finally subsided, she was able to focus on the source of the sound.

The shaking form of Brody sat in the corner with her knees pulled tightly to her chest and her face buried as if the poor girl was trying to make herself so small that she could disappear from this awful place.

"Brody?" Clem called softly, eliciting no response.

"She's been like that since we woke up here." Violet's voice came flatly from where she sat slouched against the wall, focusing on her hand that was picking at the rips in her jeans.

"Seeing Minnie again only made it worse."

"Are you alright?" She tried to get her best friend to look at her, and when she finally did, Clementine's blood ran cold at the sight of the ice in her gaze.

"...Vi?"

"I didn't believe her, y'know. When she started spouting all that shit about you being one of them, and all that shit about the kid… I thought she was just trying to fuck with our heads." She spoke in a frustrated growl.

"But then I knew. I got grabbed. We locked eyes, and you looked away."

Clementine didn't know how to respond. She chose to save Louis instead of Violet. She knew this would happen. She had no excuse.

"I'm sorry, Violet." Clementine practically pleaded.

"I didn't want any of this."

"You didn't want it to happen, but you knew it would." The blonde spit back.

"And you lied about it."

"I'm going to make this right." She swore.

"We came to bring everyone home, and that's what we're going to do."

"Then we're all going to die like Marlon did." Violet's face softened, the ice in her eyes melted leaving them empty with hopelessness.

Clementine turned to locate her other friends, to find someone else already waiting by the door.

“You’ve really flown off the fucking rails, haven’t you?” Minerva scowled at her through the bars.

“You put everyone on this fucking ship in danger. My brother in danger. On some pointless rescue attempt. Fucking traitor.”

How could she have the audacity to call Clementine a traitor? She was the one actively working against her friends for the people who kidnapped her away from them.

“This is bullshit, Minnie.” Louis challenged her from the cell across the hall.

“How the fuck could you go along with this after what they did to you and Sophie?”

“Minerva, please.” Clementine gripped the metal bars tightly.

“This is our chance to all go home, don’t you see that?”

“You’re on real thin fucking ice, Clementine.” She growled, their faces only inches apart with the bars of the cell between them.

“Just sit down and shut up, or that kid of yours will get a bullet to the head right in front of you before we even leave this dock.”

What the fuck does she mean?

“Is she awake?” That sickening voice asked from somewhere Clem couldn’t see.

“Yes, ma’am.” Minerva answered obediently before stepping back, allowing her commander to step into view.

“I see you’ve decided to return home after all.” Lilly sang.

“Fuck you.”

“It’s nice to see you too.” The woman smiled as she pulled her pistol from the holster on her hip.

“Back up.”

Clementine obeyed, slowly stepping backwards as Minerva opened the latch to let her into the cell. She was basically trapped in the corner with Minerva’s crossbow pointed right between her eyes. Lilly took a seat on the cot along the wall, the metal frame creaking under the sudden weight.

Clem looked at her two friends also trapped with her. Brody’s laboured breathing only worsened with the threat now only a few feet away. Violet actually scooched closer to the terrified girl, putting her arm around her in an attempt to quiet her down.

“I’m not the only visitor you have today.” The smile never faded from her lips. Lilly nodded to Minerva, giving her some kind of signal.

What fucking game is this?

Clementine felt her heart jump into her throat as Minnie stepped to the side, allowing her little boy to squeeze past. Clem’s shocked expression was met by AJ’s unsure gaze.

“AJ?” Clementine cried out as she stepped towards him, only to be blocked by Minerva’s threatening weapon.

He looked nearly the same as the last time she saw him, the only difference she could tell was that his hair had been cut shorter, not sticking out under the blue baseball cap as much as it had been before.

AJ said nothing as he turned his head towards Lilly, who patted the spot beside her on the cot. The child took quick steps to meet at the instructed spot, sitting on the far side of Lilly from where Clementine stood.

He was right there. Right there. So close, yet still that evil bitch stood between them.

“AJ here has barely said a word the last few days. He’s been terribly upset after he heard about you abandoning him for a brand new family.” Lilly imitated a pouty tone as she taunted the girl.

“Don’t you fucking DARE twist his head like that!” Clementine began to burn with rage.

“AJ isn’t stupid. He knows better than to believe you.”

“AJ isn’t stupid and that's why he’s still alive. He knows better than to disobey orders. He knows better than to go against the people who cared for him.” Lilly wrapped her arm around AJ’s shoulder.

“He’ll make a better soldier than you ever were, considering you ended up being such a disappointing failure.”

“Get your fucking hand off of him.” Clementine growled with a voice full of venom.

“Clem…” AJ finally spoke, an uneasy look across his face as he froze against the woman’s touch.

“Shush, AJ. She doesn’t deserve your attention.” Lilly cooed.

I’m going to fucking kill her.

“And that’s exactly the kind of insubordination we can’t tolerate.” The woman looked back over at Minerva.

“Minnie here is a shining example of everything you were supposed to be. Of course, she and her sister got off to a rocky start when they first joined our ranks, but look where she is now.”

Minerva’s eyes appeared to be empty of her own free will. She stood as if her limbs were tied with strings, moving only when the puppeteer saw fit.

“Let me tell you a story, I call it: The Parable of the Twins.” As Lilly spoke, Clementine saw the icy blue spheres of Minnie’s eyes fill with fear.

“Two girls were taken from their home, and brought to a new place to live. They had to leave their friends and family behind and that was hard at first. They shed a lot of tears.

But the new place was a good place. The people grew corn and raised pigs, and the girls ate well for the first time in years. They had hot showers. Clean clothes. Beds. They were given guns and trained to use them.

The people there were kind to these girls. All that was asked for in return, was that they help defend the group. You see, this place had a lot of enemies, killers and thieves, people who wanted what they had. They needed help fighting, or they’d lose everything they’d built. Their crops, their power, even their lives.”

“I wonder if that’s how the twins would tell it.” Clementine interrupted. Stealing a couple of kids away from their home? Nothing could justify it.

“One of the twins would.” Lilly smirked.

“One of the girls saw this was a place worth fighting for, and her tears dried.

But the other twin… she could never forget her old home. She rejected every gift. Every opportunity. Stirred up trouble every chance she got.

She convinced her sister to help her steal a raft and leave on the river. Of course, they didn’t get far.”

Clementine’s stomach twisted as the story continued.

“What happened then, Minerva?”

There was a moment of hesitation before the tall girl’s eyes drained of fear, refilling with malice.

“I killed her.” Minerva’s words although quiet, set off an explosive response to those listening.

Confused cries of disbelief came from the teens in all three cells.

“What the fuck?”

“Holy shit.”

“Is that true?”

“You killed your own sister? Why would you do that?” Lilly locked eyes with Clem, sending the girl a sinister stare. This was a demonstration of power. Lilly proving her dominance over the others.

“She was twisting my head with her lies.”

“And?”

“I made a mistake. I needed to show my loyalty to the place I called home.” Minerva spoke with scary certainty as if she fully believed in the things she was saying.

“You fucking brainwashed her!” Louis yelled, slamming his fist against the cell door.

“You sick fucks!”

“Pull the mouthy one out of the cell.” Lilly called to Dorian before turning back to Clem.

“He clearly didn’t get the moral of the story.”

Clem looked over Minnie’s shoulder, seeing the fear in his eyes as Dorian approached his cell.

“Don’t you fucking hurt him!” She growled, trying to step forward but once again stopped by Minerva and her crossbow.

“Lilly, I’m the one who screwed you over. Do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt any of them.”

Especially not him.

“You misunderstand.” She sang.

“This isn’t a negotiation.”

The door to the adjacent cell swung open as Dorian stepped inside. Mitch quickly stepped between them giving the taller woman a threatening glare.

“Don’t.” Mitch spit.

“Ey yo, you better get out of the way or you gonna get yourself hurt.” Dorian shoved the boy out of the way, grabbing Louis by the collar of his shirt, cleaver in hand.

Mitch jumped at her, pinning her against the wall as Louis fell back into the cell. Dorian swiped her cleaver at her attacker, slicing deep across Mitch’s cheekbone. Blood began to run down his face as Dorian threw him back into the cell, slamming the door. Mitch grimaced in pain as he pressed his hand to his face, attempting to stop the blood flow.

“Enough of this shit.” Lilly stood, tugging on AJ’s arm as she pulled him away from the cell.

“Dorian, start the boiler. I want us out of here.”

Minerva slammed the door behind them as Lilly and AJ disappeared down the hall.

This ship is going to blow. We need to get the fuck out.

Clementine tugged on the cheap steel, enough force, and maybe she could break the hinges.

“Get the fuck back!” Minerva barked, her voice almost on the verge of tears.

“This is all your fucking fault!”

“Her fault?” Louis yelled back.

“You killed Sophie? What the fuck?”

With Minerva’s back turned, Clementine tried to force the door again. A pair of hands dug into her shoulders, ripping her backwards and pinning her to the wall.

“What are you doing?” The blonde fought.

“You’re gonna get us all killed!”

Violet tried to keep Clementine down, but her thin frame was no match for Clem’s muscle. She tried not to be too rough as she released herself from Violet’s grasp, pressing her forearm to her friend’s throat as Clem pinned Vi against the wall.

“What the fuck are you doing?” The choking sounds caught Minnie’s attention as she unlocked the door to break up the fight.

Wrong move.

Clementine launched herself at the door, effectively knocking the crossbow from the redhead’s hands. Clem landed a knee to the other girl's stomach as she knocked her backwards. She reached out and undid the lock to Louis and Mitch’s cell before Minnie could recover= but, of course, Minerva had gone through the same training she had.

Minerva landed a swift kick to the side of Clementine’s knee, knocking her leg out from under her. She sat on top of the smaller girl, brandishing a large hunting knife and using all of her weight to try to push it into Clem’s chest.

They grappled with each other, Minerva having the size advantage. The tip of the knife dug into Clem’s collar bone, the beginning of her losing this battle.

Mitch grabbed Minerva by the hood of her jacket, pulling her off of Clem and slamming her head against the wall. Unconscious, but alive.

“You guys get the others out of here. I’m going after AJ.” Clem ignored the drops of blood rolling down her chest as she grabbed Minerva’s knife.

“I’m going with you.” Louis insisted, squeezing her hand.

“I promised I’d help you save him, after all.”

---

Louis and Clementine crept across the top deck of the boat, following that evil woman’s voice as she fed the boy all kinds of lies about Clementine.

“I’ve known Clem since this all started. She had a weak man teach her all of the wrong lessons, the same lessons that would have gotten you killed.”

“Commander! We found these two in the herd.” A girl with close-cut blonde hair revealed two more prisoners.

Shit.

“Tennessee.” Lilly sang.

“My my how your big sister has missed you.”

Her gaze moved from the young boy to the older one. She ripped James’ mask off his face just as he began to regain consciousness.

“No wonder there were so many walkers.” Lilly tossed the mask aside in disgust.

“Tell me there aren’t more of you?”

“You don’t fucking scare me.” James hissed at the woman.

“They’ve got James and Tenn,” Clementine whispered.

“Shit.” He swore.

“What are we gonna do?”

“The thing about people like him, AJ, is that they’re too broken to fit into a community. They won't fight for anyone but themselves.” Lilly spit on James.

“Kill it.” Lilly ordered.

Oh fuck, James!

Just as the blonde woman pointed her rifle at James, Tennessee grabbed the gun off her belt, aiming it wildly between the two soldiers.

“Stop hurting people!” The boy begged.

“Just give me my friends back, o-or else…”

Lilly stared at the boy, seeing what was obvious to everyone. She bent over, pressing her forehead to the end of the barrel.

“Do it, then.” She called his bluff.

“Save your friends. That’s what you came to do, right?”

Tennessee’s hands shook like mad. What little bit of confidence he had faded as the tears started to drip down his cheeks.

“Oh I see, you came here to cry.” Lilly easily snatched the gun from Tenn, turning it on him.

“You’re not a soldier either.”

Louis and Clem took that moment to spring into action. Louis grappled for the blonde’s rifle as James put her in a chokehold.

Clementine tackled Lilly to the ground. The short girl was easily thrown off, however, her knife skittering across the deck and the gun flying from the woman’s hand.

Clem crawled for the gun. Not fast enough as Lilly grabbed a fistful of her hair and painfully yanked the girl back. Lilly pinned her to the ground, an ugly scowl on her face as her fingers tightened around Clementine’s throat.

Louis wrapped his arm around the woman’s neck, putting her in a headlock and pulling her off of Clem, leaving the girl gasping for her breath. Lilly was still much bigger and stronger than any of them, slamming her elbow into Louis’ jaw and knocking him to the ground.

Just before Lilly could pounce on Clem again, AJ buried Minnie’s knife deep into Lilly’s thigh, brandishing a revolver of his own as she screamed in pain.

“AJ wait!” Lilly cried, looking for mercy in the young boy’s eyes.

“Clementine can’t take care of you like we can. The Delta is your home now. She's trying to steal you away from it.”

“We had a home! You stole us! Just like you stole the twins and made one kill the other.” Clem’s little boy shakily pointed the revolver at the bleeding woman, the ball cap dipping low, almost obscuring his eyes.

“You’re not gonna make me kill Clem!”

“AJ!” James approached slowly.

“She’s been beat, put the gun down.”

“You didn’t see what she did!” The boy argued.

“She took me away and made Clem do a bunch of awful stuff to get me back!”

Clementine couldn’t let this happen. Let AJ take a life? At such a young age? It was something she never wanted him to have to do at all.

I can’t let him kill her.

Clementine stopped thinking, and let her rage take over.

An animal-like screech left Clementine’s body as she threw herself at Lilly. She ripped the bloody knife from the woman’s leg, Lilly screaming in agony, the woman turned to attack the girl, but was unable to dodge her next attack.

Clementine swiped the knife at Lilly’s face, cutting right through the woman’s right eye. Lilly screamed again as she fell onto her back clutching her face, blood gushing from the now empty socket.

It wasn’t enough. The pain wasn’t enough. She needed to feel more. Clementine raised the knife again and again, puncturing the woman’s torso over and over long after she stopped moving. Lilly didn’t deserve to die so soon. She deserved to feel it all. Every stab and slash. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks but she couldn’t stop. The face of every person who died because of this woman’s desires flashed through her mind. Every stab was another soul avenged. Before long Lilly’s chest became nothing more than a lump of blood, mangled flesh, and protruding bones.

Rot in hell you fucking bitch.

Yet still, it didn’t feel like enough. All the torture she an AJ had gone through, nothing could take that back. Clementine raised her knife again, aiming for where her heart would be if this monster of a human being even had one. A firm hand clasped around her wrist. She looked up through her tear-blurred vision to see James staring down at her in horror.

“It’s over, Clementine.” James pulled the bloody knife from her hand, which she didn’t resist.

Louis helped her up, holding her close even though her clothes were soaked with blood.

“It’s over now.” He whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair.

Clementine couldn’t focus on him, instead taking in what she had just done. Lilly now looked as if she had been attacked by a walker. It did not look like the work of a human being.

I’m still the animal she trained me to be.

AJ had never moved through the whole ordeal. The small boy stood soundly with both hands gripping his gun. He hardly flinched at the horrid sight before him.

“She was a monster, wasn’t she?” He asked, his eyes going from Clem to the mangled corpse.

“Yeah, and I stopped her.” Clem was finally free, but couldn’t find the will to smile.

“She’s not going to hurt us anymore.”

She wanted to hug her boy, to pull him close and make him believe she’d never leave him again, but she couldn’t. Not like this, covered in Lilly’s blood.

“We’re gonna go home now, okay Goofball?” Her voice broke as fresh tears cut through the blood that stained her face.

The clatter of the knife hitting the deck made her jump slightly. Clem turned to see James staring intently at the body in front of him.

“You… you ripped her apart.” James gasped in disbelief at what he had just witnessed.

“It was like watching a wild animal!”

“I had a history with her. You don’t know what she’s done to us.” Clementine wouldn’t let him make her think this killing was anything but just.

“She deserved it.”

“Nothing could justify such a slaughter.” He hissed.

A loud boom shook the entire deck, nearly knocking them all to the floor. Black smoke rose from the smokestack as Clementine realized that their borrowed time had run short.

“Oh shit, the bomb!” Clementine tackled AJ to the floor just as the shockwave of the explosion knocked her against the metal wall.

#clouis #louistine #fanfic #the walking dead final season #twdg clementine #allegiances #my writing

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dr-gloom · 5 years ago

Text

The Makings of Greatness: Chapter 16

Fandom: Sanders’ Sides

Pairing: platonic logince, platonic moxiety, platonic anxeit, familial ThVi

Tags/Warnings (for this chapter): final goodbyes, suspense, near death experience, slightly sympathetic deceit

Ko-fi

AO3

Masterlist

Prologue Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Ch 15 Ch 16 Ch 17

Declan steps back from the ledge, turning to face the remaining members on deck. “Well you heard him! Turn this damn thing around!”

Roman’s ears perk up and he seems to consider it for a moment before turning to Logan. “Specs, turn the ship back towards the portal.”

Logan sighs. “Aye aye, captain.” He cranks the wheel, turning the ship completely around and sending it towards the portal.

Virgil sails through floating debris, using them as a sort of kickboard or just grinding against them in passing, maneuvering through the mess effortlessly. The thruster gives out and he stomps on his igniter again to relight it, flying straight for the map that still floats in front of the gateway. He descends closer to the planet, bobbing and weaving through giant chunks of metal and fire. If he were to close his eyes, it would almost feel like racing through the canyons of Montressor again, only this time everything else is moving. And there’s fire. And he could die, very easily.

Okay, he needs to focus.

Virgil reacts on a dime, crouching down to sail under one chunk of debris, then straightening up and leaning to the left to avoid another. He grinds against one of them before shooting off once again. The wing pulls at his hair and his clothes and makes his eyes water slightly. The heat of the fires warms his skin. It really is just like the canyons; here, like this, all thoughts are silenced. Here, he can focus on the feeling of the wind rushing by, the heat of the fire, the angle of his surfer, how fast he’s flying. All thoughts are on making it through this alive, making it to the map and switching the portal. He can’t mess this up. Not this.

The I.M.G.Nation, unfortunately, isn’t being piloted by someone as reactive as Virgil. Logan focuses on the portal up ahead and trying to follow Virgil, resulting in the ship scraping against large debris on more than one occasion. Roman watches helplessly as Logan practically tears his baby apart with his naivety, trying to futilely call out directions.

“To the right- no, the right!”

Logan glares at the captain over his shoulder. “I know, I know! Will you just let me drive!”

Roman blinks in surprise, taken aback. He leans back against the mast, silent.

“Twenty-five seconds!” Patton screams, his eyes flashing red.

Logan grits his teeth and yanks the wheel to the left.

Virgil’s thruster goes out, sputtering pathetically before completely dying. He keeps stomping on the kick-starter but nothing happens, making him look back with a desperate plea in his mind. It seems the thruster just ran out of power, since this solar surfer doesn’t have a solar sail to power it. Virgil turns around to see an abyss rapidly approaching and panics, his heart jumping into his throat. “No no no no no!” Virgil keeps stomping on the kick-starter as he and the board descend into the abyss, spinning lazily in circles and slowly gaining momentum. The heat of the fire and magma below grows more and more apparent with each second, only serving to drive the panic in deeper.

Declan watches as Virgil disappears into the abyss, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest. “Come on…”

“SEVENTEEN SECONDS!” Patton screams.

Virgil is more than halfway down when the idea hits. He throws his body weight to the side, sending him towards one wall of the abyss and angling so the thruster takes the brunt of the impact, grinding it against the metal wall as his descent continues. He grits his teeth and clenches his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms but he can’t feel it over his erratic heartbeat. Sparks fly from the thruster until it finally ignites. Virgil shouts in victory and angles the board up, shooting out of the abyss just as the I.M.G.Nation passes overhead.

“Seven!”

He shoots past them from underneath.

“Six!”

He pulls ahead of them, angling towards the map.

“Five!”

He reaches out.

“Four!”

He’s nearly touching it.

“Three!”

His finger taps the green holograph.

“Two!”

The portal changes.

“One!”

Virgil and the I.M.G.Nation sail through the portal just as Treasure Planet explodes, the remnants of the inferno and some debris following them into space before the portal closes, the map destroyed along with the planet. The I.M.G.Nation gradually slows now that the threat has passed. Virgil rises up to sail above the ship, pumping his fists, whooping and hollering with the biggest smile on his face. That was easily the greatest adrenaline rush he’d ever gotten but… he would definitely not be repeating that anytime soon.

On the deck of the I.M.G.Nation, Declan is right there cheering with Virgil, watching him sail around the ship and laughing along with him. Virgil sails close to the deck, reaching out to high-five Declan as Morph turned into fireworks and exploded with fanfare. Declan grins, watching Virgil continue his victory laps. “Didn’t I say he had greatness in him?”

That strange feeling was back in his chest, and now that he didn’t have a crew of murderous pirates breathing down his neck he could finally admit what that feeling was.

Love.

Virgil brings the surfer down to grind on the I.M.G.Nation’s ledge before stepping off of it and onto the deck, letting the surfer sail off into space. As soon as his feet are on solid wood, Morph is rubbing against him and licking his cheek. Virgil laughs lightly and scritches at Morph’s head with a finger, looking up as Roman and Logan approach. Morph flits off to sit on Declan’s shoulder, Declan standing at the base of the stairs.

“That was… insane, but… Very effective.” Roman laughs lightly. “I think I’ll have to recommend you to the Interstellar Academy. They could use a man like you.”

“And I believe your mother would rather enjoy hearing about all that you’ve done on our journey. Though… Perhaps, for her health, we should leave out the life-threatening parts.” Virgil rolls his eyes but nudges Logan, showing the doctor that he wasn’t mad.

Patton walks up to Virgil, bouncing on the balls of his robotic feet. “Virge, that was… Unforgettable! I know you don’t like touching, but… Get ready for a hug, kiddo!” Patton wraps his arms around Virgil and laughs happily, letting out a surprised sound when Virgil hugs him back and spins him around before setting the robot down. Patton blinks and takes a step back to process. “You… hugged me back! Ooh, I promised myself I wouldn’t cry!” Patton wipes a tear from his eye, leaning his head on Virgil’s shoulder. He lets out a soft wail and throws himself at Virgil, who just laughs lightly and wraps his arms around the robot, patting his back.

Virgil looks up to address Declan, but his smile fades when he doesn’t see the cyborg anywhere on deck.

Morph chitters at Declan’s side as Declan works to untie the longboat from its holding place. Declan looks up at the pink blob, chiding it softly. “Morph, come on now, we need to leave.”

“You never quit, do you?”

Declan’s eyes widen before he sets his face into its usual smirk, turning to talk to Virgil. “Ah, Virg-o. I was just checking to make sure our last longboat was safe and secure.” He reties the rope he’d just undone, not looking Virgil in the eye. Virgil walks over to Declan, couching down next to him with a thinking face. He undoes the poor job Declan just did and reties it as tight as he can, smiling up at the cyborg.

“That should hold it.”

Declan laughs lightly, standing up and dusting off his pants. “I taught you well.” Virgil gives him an unimpressed look. “Look… We just want to avoid prison. Morph is a free spirit, he would be miserable locked up day in and day out.” Declan gives Virgil pleading eyes, and Virgil matches the look with a serious blank expression. After a moment, the teen cracks and allows the tiniest of smiles on his face. Declan raises an eyebrow as Virgil walks away, only to smile when Virgil stops and flips the switch to open up the ship’s underbelly.

“You should sail with us!” Declan wraps an arm around Virgil and Morph turns into a tricorn, settling himself on Virgil’s head. “You and me. Shae and Moran. Full of ourselves and no ties to anyone.”

Virgil steps away and sighs with a smile, taking Morph off his head and petting him when he turns back into a blob. “You know… When I first got on this ship, I would have taken you up on that in a second. But… I met this old cyborg, and he taught me that I could be anything, chart my own course…” Declan smiles fondly and Virgil looks out the ship’s opening. “That’s what I’m gonna do.”

Declan moves to stand beside Virgil, looking out into space with him. “And what do you see? For this friend of yours?”

“A future.”

Declan laughs. He turns to fully face Virgil and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Look at you. You’re glowing like a solar flyer. You… You’re something special, Virgil. You’re going to rattle the stars.”

Virgil purses his lips, blinking to hold back the sudden tears making his eyes feel hot. Declan opens his arms and Virgil doesn’t hesitate to hug the cyborg, listening to the beating of his heart. At least some things can’t be replaced. After a moment Declan pulls back and clears his throat. “There’s grease in my eye.” He mutters, turning away to wipe at his eyes. Virgil rolls his eyes with a soft smile, wiping away tears of his own.

Morph starts crying, turning himself into a puddle of tears that Virgil catches in his hands. “Aw, Morph… Don’t worry, I’ll see you around, okay?”

“See you around.” Morph mimics, his voice trembling. He flits back over to Declan and settles on his outstretched hand. Declan looks between Morph and Virgil, bringing Morph closer to him to speak in a quiet voice.

“Morph, I have a job for you.” Morph chitters and points to himself. “I need you to keep an eye on this… little pup.” Virgil’s eyes widen in realization. Morph smiles. “Will you… Do me that favor?” Declan finishes, tearing up once again. Morph nods and solutes Declan before rubbing against him happily and flitting back over to Virgil. Declan gets in the longboat and starts lowering it through the opening below.

“Oh, and one more thing,” He reaches into his pocket and tosses up a handful of gold and jewels to Virgil. “For your dad, to rebuild that Inn of yours.”

Virgil watches Declan descend with a smile. “Stay out of trouble, you snake.��

Declan laughs as he starts the longboat’s thrusters. “Why, Virg-o, when have I ever done otherwise?” And then he’s flying off once again, leaving Virgil behind.

Taglist: @the5thcoy @dailysandersidesaudoodles @hungry-red-panda @neonb-fly @chemically-imbalanced-romance@punsterterry @dead4sevenyears @metaphoricalpluto2@tanyatoloni1334

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fanfic #virgil sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #deceit sanders #treasure planet au

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justcloseyoureyesandseee · 6 years ago

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Yesterday was the hardest day I’ve ever experienced. The great love of my life passed away.

We adopted Lizzie when she was barely 6 months old. When her litter was first listed for sale we attempted to look at the puppies, but they were gone by the time our call went through. Six months later my mom happened to see an ad in the paper about a golden retriever/yellow lab mix. She was immediately drawn to the ad because it was written from Lizzie’s point of view, asking for a new loving family because as much as her current family wanted to give her all the love and attention she needed, their schedules prevented it. Turns out she was a puppy from the litter we’d wanted to look at months before and by some miracle we were the first of 15 calls this time.

Lizzie was a handful right up until the day she passed. She lived in 6 houses during her time with us and managed to escape all of them to explore the neighborhood. When upset, she actively punished us by getting into the garbage, snatching food off countertops, destroying personal affects, huffing, head-butting, stomping toes, unplugging laptops and phones, burping, blowing snot, hitting, kicking, and countless other forms of torture. Her attacks were meticulously planned and delivered when least expected. I honestly don’t know how her body was able to handle everything she ate—raw chicken, an entire family size bag of Child’s Play (tootsie rolls), my middle school woodshop project, bran muffins, grocery bags full of chocolate/candy, entire pizzas, flip-flops, 19 of 24 birthday cupcakes… you name it, she ate it. No matter how much we tried to outwit her and protect her poor stomach, she always found a way.

Thankfully she wasn’t a terror all of the time. At her core she was a lover. A real softie. We always said she was a real life Disney princess because of the way small woodland creatures flocked to her side and the way she just HAD to smell every flower she passed. She was such a sweetheart we actually feared that in the case of a burglary she’d be more likely to offer the burglar a present than she would to defend the household.

Her defining characteristic was tending to and caring for her family. She earned the nickname Nana because of the way she broke up fights between my younger siblings, herded everyone to bed at a reasonable hour, waited by the bathroom door while teeth were brushed, demanded final approval for every item that went into suitcases, insisted dishes be carried to the sink, licked away tears, doled out hugs, and regularly participated in household cleaning. She also had a very strong attraction to babies and children of all sizes, always wanting to visit and play with them but in a gentle way of course.

Oddly enough the first night I spent with Lizzie (I’d been at my dad’s house in another state during her arrival), she mistook me as an intruder and jumped between me and my 3 year-old sister to protect her new family. I was chased through the house—screaming—by this ferocious growling beast and eventually she tackled me to the floor and had to be pulled off. All to protect my baby sister. Luckily she learned to love me lol and she learned to save her defensive instincts for the moments that mattered.

We had a rough start, but when my mom packed us up to leave an abusive marriage, the three of us girls (my mom, Lizzie, and me) grew closer than ever in our “rebound” house. During the 14 years we spent together, we went through some really awful and painful times, but we got through it together. We eventually adopted another dog, a feisty Maltese-Bichon mix that worshipped the ground Liz walked on, and our family dynamic evolved, but I don’t think anything can or ever will penetrate the bond between the original 3.

Lizzie was put on a pedestal early on, and somehow she managed to live up to the hype. She was so woven into my life that I feel like I’ve lost a limb or an internal part of me I can’t replace. I’ve never loved anyone or anything the way I loved her. She was my north star, my sunshine when clouds are gray, my reason to get up every morning.

Yesterday seemed like it was going to be just like any other day. She still whined and huffed and threw a fit when I sat on my mom’s bed (a real pet peeve of hers since she can no longer get up there). During her afternoon trip outside she happily jaunted around the yard and smelled every flower she spotted, spied on the kids playing in the backyard behind ours, greeted the UPS man that delivered our latest amazon haul, laid in the sun and gazed at the cloudless sky. She came inside and ate her dinner—her appetite has NEVER suffered as long as I’ve known her. She even injected herself into our conversation with her unique Nana sounds.

And then an hour later she took a hard fall, couldn’t get back up, and eventually fainted. She stopped responding to us or showing any sign she was aware of her surroundings. Her gums turned terrifyingly white. We had to carry her down a flight of stairs and into the car, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the shrill cries that followed. She’s never been one to express when she’s in pain, she usually tried to conceal it from us actually, but yesterday she couldn’t hide her suffering.

It happened so fast. The vet quickly discovered that the reason for her white gums and poor circulation was severe internal bleeding in her abdomen, most likely due to a ruptured tumor on her spleen. We didn’t want to put her through surgery to confirm the cause, knowing that because of her age and condition she probably wouldn’t survive the procedure. Even a proper ultrasound was out of the question. Five minutes after arriving to the vet we were asked to make a decision, and we ultimately chose to end her misery.

She collapsed at 6:00 pm and was no longer with us by 9:00.

I don’t know how much I believe in heaven and better places and all that, though I think I do, but I have to believe that someone as beautiful and loving and out-of-this-world special as Nana had to have had a lovely place reserved just for her. And hopefully I’ll be able to reunite with her there one day.

I’ve spent more than half of my life with her. 14 years. Little reminders around the house have me bursting into tears every 10 minutes. I still can’t believe she’s gone. Yesterday she was still with us and lounging outside in the sun. I miss her hugs and the way she’d rest her forehead on mine, and how she ALWAYS welcomed me home at the door and peeked in on me when I was napping and waited outside the bathroom door while I showered, and how she’d approach with her ears pointed to the side and her tail wagging and a big smile on her face when I opened my arms for a hug. Right now everything feels so empty and broken and like nothing will ever be okay again. I miss her so much and my heart goes out to anyone else that’s ever gone through this.

She was my family and my best friend.

This post is so much longer than I planned and if you’ve managed to read this far, i truly appreciate it. I feel like it’s my duty to share a glimpse of how special this girl was and how much she meant to me, though I barely scratched the surface. I never really talk about my life on here or post pictures of myself, but Lizzie was such a huge part of my life that it feels disrespectful not to.

Here’s a picture of the last moment we spent together (ugly crying and all):

My dearest Lizzie. January 6, 2004 - June 6, 2018.

#i'm such a mess #everything is making me cry #dogs are truly man's best friend #please give your pets extra hugs and kisses every single day #and remind them how loved they are #life's too short #personal #death tw

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leepace71 · 7 years ago

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15 Lively Facts About Pushing Daisies

Years before Bryan Fuller created the visually stunning Hannibal, there was the equally pretty and just plain strange world of Pushing Daisies. Lee Pace starred as Ned, a pie-maker who could bring the dead back to life with a simple touch—and back to the dead again with a second touch.

After the love of his life, Chuck (Anna Friel), is murdered, Ned brings her back to life and develops a romance with her, though the two can never touch. Chi McBride played Emerson Cod, a private investigator who enlists Ned’s help in solving cases. In a touch of irony mentioned many times by now, Pushing Daisies had the misfortune of being pronounced dead by ABC in 2008, right before it became standard practice for cult shows to be resurrected. Here are some facts about the beloved series.

1. IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE A SPINOFF OF DEAD LIKE ME.

Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller left his former creation, Dead Like Me, before its second season, during which he planned to introduce Ned as an adversary for George's grim reaper. Ned would have revived dead bodies before George could claim them, and a romance would have transpired.

2. ADAM BRODY TURNED DOWN PLAYING NED.

Fuller wanted Lee Pace for the role of Ned, but was told by Pace’s agents that he was only interested in movies. So he approached Adam Brody, who said he wasn’t ready to do another series so soon after The O.C. had ended. Then Pace’s manager went around his agents and got Pace the pilot script, which the actor loved.

3. CHI MCBRIDE PITCHED EMERSON’S BACKSTORY HIMSELF.

Chi McBride suggested to Fuller that his character became a private investigator to find his daughter, who disappeared after his ex ran off with her. According to the actor, Fuller initially had a “completely different” story in mind for Emerson.

4. ANNA FRIEL HAD A LITTLE RITUAL BEFORE SHOOTING A SCENE.

Dubbed “The Anna” by director Barry Sonnenfeld, Anna Friel would pump her arms rapidly, like someone running in place, before each scene to keep her energy up. Eventually, Pace, Swoosie Kurtz, and Ellen Greene (who played her aunts) did it, too.

5. FRIEL USED AN AMERICAN ACCENT ALL DAY ON SET.

The English actresses only slipped back to her British accent when her mother called (Mrs. Friel didn’t like the American accent). Jim Dale, the show's narrator, didn’t even realize that Friel was British "until I heard her being interviewed."

6. LEE PACE STAYED IN CHARACTER WHENEVER FRIEL TRIED TO HUG HIM.

Since Ned and Chuck could never touch, Pace and Friel attempted to not make physical contact with one another for a week, and failed repeatedly. Friel once tried to give Pace a hug, and Pace instinctively flinched. "It's just playing Ned," Pace explained. "I shouldn't be flinching when a beautiful girl like Anna Friel gives me a hug, but I flinched! That's weird, that's odd, that's not normal."

7. THERE WAS A NOTED AMÉLIE INFLUENCE.

Cinematographer Michael Weaver said that Fuller, Barry Sonnenfeld (who directed the first two episodes of Pushing Daisies), an executive producer for the series, and he all agreed to give the show a feel “somewhere between Amélie and a Tim Burton film—something big, bright, and bigger than life.” Pushing Daisies music composer and arranger Jim Dooley described his score as “having an Amélie type of sound.”

8. BARRY SONNENFELD HAD A "NO BLUES" RULE.

Production designer Michael Wylie’s instruction from Sonnenfeld was “virtually no blues.” Friel told ITV, “there’s no blue at all. The director hated blue,” before revealing another big influence for the show was the work of Nighthawks artist Edward Hopper.

9. KRISTIN CHENOWETH MADE A VERY SPECIFIC SONG REQUEST.

Kristin Chenoweth told Fuller that she wanted to sing "Eternal Flame" on the show. Fuller granted her wish, and Chenoweth's Olive sang her heart out in the episode “Comfort Food.” Had the show continued, there would have been an all-musical episode.

10. THE VIEW OF THE TOWN FROM THE PIE HOLE WAS A 180-FOOT LONG, 18-FOOT HIGH ‘TRANSLIGHT.'

It was created from photographs of a series of matte paintings.

11. THE VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR WAS SO GOOD, SOMETIMES HIS JOB WASN’T RECOGNIZED.

Because there wasn’t enough in the budget to get permission to shoot in the classic Bradbury building, which was used for movies like Double Indemnity and Blade Runner, William Powloski was tasked with recreating it. He went to the building, took 2000 digital photos, and created a digital version of the building.

"Our crew saw the result and asked, 'When did you go shoot the Bradbury building? Because the footage cuts right in with our set,'" Powloski recalled. "I hear this from colleagues, too, 'Hey, great shot inside the Bradbury.' And you really can't see the difference between the physical set and the very specific extension of one of the city's most well-known interiors. You know what, I know where to look and I don't see the seams either. I just love that!"

12. IT HAD MORE EMMY NOMINATIONS THAN EPISODES AFTER ITS FIRST SEASON.

Because of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Pushing Daisies's first season was only nine episodes long. The show was nominated for 12 Emmys, and won three (including awards for Sonnenfeld and Dooley in their respective categories). In 2009, a year after Fuller had confirmed the series' cancellation, Pushing Daisies won four more Emmys, including one for Chenoweth as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

13. FULLER NEVER WANTED TO REVEAL HOW NED GOT HIS POWERS.

Fuller said that if that part of the mythology was ever revealed, “then all the fun goes out the window.”

14. HAD THE SERIES CONTINUED, THE NARRATOR WOULD HAVE APPEARED, AND THE CORONER WOULD HAVE HAD A CRUSH ON EMERSON.

Fuller intended to put Jim Dale in front of the camera. He also later revealed that Sy Richardon’s coroner character was gay, and his infatuation with Emerson would have been introduced if Daisies had not been cancelled.

15. A FUTURE MOVIE AND/OR MUSICAL ISN’T OUT OF THE QUESTION.

In 2014, Fuller claimed he had met with Sonnenfeld about finding financing for a musical, and talked to Netflix about a “lost season.” Though that was a few years ago, fans are still hoping that Pushing Daisies will rise again.

#lee pace #bryan fuller #anna friel #pushing daisies

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nomoregraydays · 6 years ago

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Under The Stars (G.D. fanfic) - Part 14 Tattoo Time

POV: First person

Word Count: 1313

*****

“That’s where you decided to get your first tattoo?” Ethan asked incredulously.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “You can’t talk, E. You get all yours on your thigh and ankles. You got one on the inside of your lip.”

He rolled his eyes. “Still not as painful as the shoulder blade area. You should do your arm first or leg.”

“Mmhm.” I sighed heavily. “But this is the tattoo I’ve been thinking about the longest. I want to get it first incase I decide I don’t want to get the rest.”

Grayson laughed beside me and played with my hair. “That’s a funny joke. You get one, you’re hooked.” He kissed the side of my head before getting up from the couch and leaving the space beside me vacant and lonely.

He reached his hand out for me to take. “Come on.”

I took it with a smile even though I had nerves surging in my body. I looked at Ethan. “Are you not gonna come with?”

“And miss the opportunity for some good video footage? Fuck no. I’m coming.”

I groaned internally as I crashed my face into Gray’s chest to hide the redness I felt creeping up. This is gonna show up on YouTube some day, or at least a form of social media. I know it.

***

I took a deep breath as we stepped through the door of the tattoo shop. We would’ve went to the boys’ tattoo artist but he’s back in Jersey, and I can’t take that much time off.

Gray squeezed my hand as Ethan pushed past us. “We got fresh meat bros!”

“Thanks for the intro, E.”

An average beefed man approached us with a sly smirk. “You’re the fresh meat I’m guessing?”

I was not expecting the slight hint of a British accent. Wow.

“Yup.” I nodded shortly.

“Good.” He chuckled and waved for us to follow him back to his station. “Where at and what?”

I pulled out a piece of paper from my back pocket. “On my left shoulder blade area.”

“Doin one of the first worst. Great idea.” I could sense of a bit of sarcasm, yet genuinity out of it. He stood up from where he had sat and walked off to do something. I think to transfer the design to the parchment paper.

Both of the twins were clearly amused by my anxiousness towards this. Honestly, once it starts I should be fine; it’s usually how it goes. Ethan had pulled out the Gopro and the lens pointed in my direction.

“The she-beast is finally getting her first tattoo. What do you have to say?”

I rolled my eyes and flicked him off. The front door opened, but I hadn’t looked to see who it was. A couple seconds later Chanelle approached. “What’s up, my dudes? How you feeling, Kat?”

She’d gotten her first tattoo a couple months back. I was the last one.

“Considering it hasn’t started? Nervous as fuck.”

“Good mindset.” She laughed and side hugged Ethan who kissed her cheek.

The tattoo dude came back and handed over the paper I’d given him. “I’m Nigel, by the way. Get comfortable. You’ll need to remove the straps of your tank and bra.”

I silently sat down on the black cushion and pushed the left straps down and took my arm out of them. Grayson rested a warm hand on the bare skin and pressed his lips on the area then underneath my ear. “It’ll be okay.”

I noticed I closed my eyes and focused on how his hand and lips felt on me. If somehow Grayson could distract me with sexual favors while I get this tattoo done, that would be awesome.

“Look back please. Tell me if this is good.”

I glanced back to see he was holding up a mirror and he held the angel wings design positioned over the shoulder blade area. “Just a little bit more to the left and it’s good. Thanks.”

He nodded. “Righty then.” He took out a disinfectant wipe to clean the area before sticking the design on to my skin. It’s a fairly simple design in black ink, so shouldn’t take long. I don’t think anyways. Even though I could hear the machine turn on and knew it was coming, I jolted a bit at the first poke of the needle.

Nigel snickered under his breath. “Sorry, should’ve warned. I’m starting.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Great warning skills. I’m sure you’d be very helpful if there was a predator coming.”

“What kind of predator though? How much danger would there really be to warn people?”

“I don’t know. Hypothetically, what if zombies or vampires existed. They’re a high danger. Would you warn someone that a zombie was about to attack them?”

My three friends groaned aloud knowing what this conversation could turn into it. I was amused now and thankful for this distraction as he worked the stinging ink into my skin. I had to stop and cringe hard with tears in my eyes at some of the over bone parts, but it was over quicker than I was expecting.

“Man, I thought you were gonna cry like a little bitch the whole time.” Ethan stated, seeming disappointed or impressed?? Maybe both.

I shook my head. “Jealous? I think you’ll cry if you get one on your shoulder.”

He let out a deep breath. “Don’t think we’ll ever get the chance to find out. I’m too scared.”

All of us laughed.

Grayson shoved his shoulder. “Maybe this is a fear we should do for a video.”

“I’d rather swim with sharks again bro.”

“Okay, let’s do it. A part two.”

Ethan eyed Grayson to see if he was serious then stuck his hand out for a fist bump. “Since I’m a savage, okay.”

“Ethan, I think she’s taken the savage title from you.” Nigel joked.

I am completely amused. “Hah! Never thought the day would come.”

“Oh no. Nigel, you have anyone else coming in? Let’s get someone on a shoulder blade.” E whipped off the white muscle tee he was wearing and sat down on the black cushion.

Chanelle face palmed and sighed heavily. “For fuck sakes.” She looked at me. “Thanks, Kat.”

I smirked. “You’re welcome.”

***

I was dying of laughter. As much as Ethan wanted to take the title back today, he cried more than I did. But I still give him props, he had a filled in tattoo of a mountain done; it’s either go big or go home for these boys.

“Would you shut up?” He whined as we paid and left the shop.

“I just wanna milk this a little longer. It’s not every day I’m more savage than you.”

He hung his head down and shoved his hands into his pockets to walk ahead.

“Ethan, come on! I give you some props, you got a more intricate tattoo than I did, so I say you did pretty damn good.”

“Damn straight.” He shot back and hopped into the driver seat of his car to end the conversation.

Grayson snickered and looked at me. “How’s the tattoo feeling?”

For a moment, I was blown away by the sunset backdrop behind him, making him glow more. I cleared my throat and blinked a couple times. “It’s feeling good. Tender, obviously.”

“I’ll remind and help you later to remove the paper and put the lotion on it.”

I smiled. “Thanks, babe. I don’t think I’ve said it yet.. I’m really glad that all of you were here for this. I wouldn’t have ever done it.”

He captivated my lips sweetfully in a kiss for a brief moment. “I’m glad you let me be here for it.”

“You can be there for every single one. No doubt.”

His fingers brushed down my right shoulder and he was smiling like a complete dork. “I can’t wait.”

Next: First Time (Part 15)

#it's gonna be going on hiatus again #im sorryyyy #but rest assured it'll finish eventually #grayson dolan #grayson dolan fanfic #grayson dolan fluff #grayson dolan fic #dolan twins #dolan twins fanfiction #dolan twins fic #fanfiction #story #writing #UTS #Under The Stars #Part 14 #Tattoo Time #ethan dolan

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daebakinc · 8 years ago

Text

We Make the Kingdom

Image by silverdagger865

Pairing: Yongguk x OC Genre: Fantasy, with Angst and Smut to come Summary: After a vampire attack leaves you almost dead, you are rescued by a group of werelions, powers long thought to be extinct. Upon discovering the same magic flows in your blood, you join their fight against encroaching vampires and another, very human monster, to save the kingdom. Previous parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 , 8, 9(M), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16(M), 17, 18, Final

Limbo between life and death is dark and numb and quiet. A perfect place to hide from probing memories of a haunting nightmare. It's too good to last. The thud of booted feet and cold clink of metal on metal disturb your peaceful oblivion. The sounds drag you unwilling towards the threshold of consciousness. You don’t want to wake up. You don’t remember why, but waking is bad. Very bad.

The boots come closer, kicking wood aside. “I think this one’s still alive.”

“Is there a bite?”

Calloused skin and leather brush your cheek as someone pushes your head aside with a sniff and a sigh. “Yes. About a day or two ago from the smell.”

Hooves rattle the loose stone beneath your scraped feet. A saddle creaks and someone else takes another deep sniff. “She’ll turn soon. Kill her,” the second, deeper voice commands.

“Seems a pity. Looks pretty beneath the muck.”

“She will not be so pretty when she goes for your throat,” the voice replies with an irony-laden half laugh. His tone softens as he adds, “No on can survive a bite like we can, let alone this girl. You’ll-”

“Be saving her. I know, I know. I’ll be quick.”

Despite his words, the knife that suddenly presses against your heart hesitates. Its deadly tip doesn't even break skin. Your remaining strength rallies to force your eyes open. If you’re going to die, you’re as sure as hell going to at least look the beasts killing you in the eyes. They had everything else far too easy.

The wide eyes that look back at you seem too deep to belong to a monster. The face too handsome too. At least what you can make out as your vision blurs.

“Himchan!”

Your would-be killer severs the cord holding your hands above your head. Your entire body collapses with a weak whimper. Thick arms catch you just before you hit the ground.

The second voice returns. “What is it?”

“Her eyes, they aren’t a newborn’s. One of them is gold.”

“Gold? Open them.”

“Come on, darlin’,” your rescuer croons, cradling you soothingly. “Come on, look at me. You can do it. Just open your eyes a few seconds for me and you can go back to sleep. Please.”

He did say “please.” With a sigh, you fight your eyes open again, struggling to see in the dark. Sparse moonlight outlines the two men hovering over you. It lends them silver halos, casting them as avenging angels in this farce. Beautiful angels. Almost as beautiful as the glowing eyes looking down at you. So different from the last ones.

“I can’t believe it...” the other whispers, reaching down to stroke your hair.

“That’s a good girl. You’re safe now, darlin’.” The one holding you rubs his cheek against yours, keeping his voice low.

A loud roar that shakes the stars cuts off your questioning of his strange gesture. The sound sets your heart racing as you try to hide, squeezing your eyes shut again. Not again. More death, more ruin. Running boots skid to a stop nearby as echoes of inhuman snarls and screams reach you.

“Himchan! They’ve surrounded Junhong and Youngjae!”

“Daehyun, get her on my horse! Now! We’ll take care of the clan.”

You rise through the air. He holds you more firmly against his warmth as you rock with his steps. Daehyun, you remind yourself. Another human. Safety. You chant the word in your head, hoping it's true and not a dream. Horse smell fills your nose. You’re slung up, one leg pushed to sit astride the hard leather. Your body screams at the stretch.

“Think you can stay in the saddle?”

You shake your head and try not to vomit on him, nausea swirling with rising pain.

“It’s all right; I’ll tie you in. Just stay still.” Daehyun hurriedly wraps rope around your waist and the saddle horn, the movement bringing him closer. He easily manipulates your slumped body like a doll as he binds you to your seat.

You clear your parched throat, croaking, “Lied.”

“What?”

“You lied. Open my eyes… could sleep.”

“Ah,” he chuckles, securing you with a final tug before resting a hand on your thigh. “Don’t worry. I’m going to get us out of here. Trust me.”

“Don’t know you.” You flinch as the screams get closer. Unwelcome images flicker in your mind. He needs to flee with you now before they catch you again.

“We can worry about that later.” Tack jingles and creaks beside you. “Hold on now, time to fly.”

With no other warning, the horse beneath you jumps forward. Its hooves pound away from your nightmare. You fall forward and hug the horse’s neck for dear life. The horn digs into your stomach but you barely register the discomfort. The rolling gait sets your head spinning, sending you spiraling back into unconsciousness. You're lost to the passing of time. Sky and land blend into indistinguishable blackness as you pass through the night unhindered.

Branches snag your clothes and scratch your skin. The bursts of pain prick your eyes open to slits. Fallen stars twinkle in a river along the path you ride. It takes you longer to realize the stars are reflected torches, flickering along the ramparts of a looming castle on a hill. Minutes or hours later you pass through its high walls. Your head still foggy, you don't recognize that the horse beneath you has stopped. The rope falling away from your body startles you alert.

“Easy there,” Daehyun soothes, lifting you from your seat into his arms again. His smooth, steady voice does settle your nerves. A little. “We’re safe here. Those bloodsuckers don't dare come sniffing around here.”

Huddling into his warmth as he walks, you grip his coat, mumbling into it. “What was that?”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You might have a rough night ahead of you. You're not out of the woods yet.”

“What have you brought back, Daehyun?” A voice as deep as night suddenly inquires from a few paces away. Your grip on Daehyun's coat tightens in fear. “You go out on a hunt and return with someone who reeks of vampire.”

“She is bitten, but, Yongguk,… I think she’s one of us.”

“One of us?” Footsteps approach, a hand easing your face from Daehyun’s chest.

Instinct screams for you to flinch away, but you force yourself still. The hand on your face is gentle despite its callouses. Daehyun's relaxed muscles beneath you further signal this is someone to trust.

“She has our eyes. Well, one. One more time, darlin’, I promise. Open your eyes.”

Although their words confuse you, you comply, too tired to do anything else. Your eyes stay open just long enough to glimpse tan skin lit by firelight and another pair of glowing eyes.

Long fingers rub over the bruise on your cheek, even that barest pressure making you whimper. “Poor thing.”

Yongguk’s fingers move down your neck to the burning skin of your shoulder as Daehyun adds in a disgusted tone, “They had her strung up on the village outskirts like a piece of game. Looks like they played with her a bit beforehand. I don’t think they knew or they would have killed her as soon as they found her.”

“They should have smelled her before they attacked, not to mention tasted…”

“I thought the king found us all. I’ve never seen a normal human with our eyes though.”

“Because they do not exist.” There’s a brief silence before Yongguk continues. “Bring her to the watch room.”

“Not the den? But-“

“She has latent were-blood, her eye is proof of that, but it may not be enough to keep the venom from turning her if they didn’t recognize it. I will not risk our family on that chance.”

Daehyun starts walking again, the slight breeze from his movement chilling your bones. Your fingers slowly sneak through the gap in his coat, seeking any kind of heat. His skin feels like fire, but you welcome the burning.

He hisses as your fingertips graze his shirt. His body jolts, but he keeps walking, his steps bumpier as he ascends stairs. By the time he stops, your entire body is shaking. Your mind is becoming murkier with every second, muddled by the chill that turns your heartbeat to dull throbs. Even being enclosed by walls does nothing to stop the biting cold. Daehyun’s previously abnormal body heat feels barely lukewarm.

“Yongguk? She feels like ice. Is she turning?”

“If she is, that’s one of the first signs. Give her to me and lock the door behind you,” he demands, his hands already sliding beneath your back. “When the others return, send Youngjae up, but he is to only talk to me through the door, understood?”

“But-”

“Now.” The growl in Yongguk’s voice leaves no room for argument.

Daehyun’s arms fall away, but Yongguk proves a furnace, one you eagerly cling too. You vaguely hear the click of lock as he brings you further into the room. However, anything other than your body’s misery is becoming increasingly unworthy of note. The blankets that Yongguk lowers you onto are too soft, unreal. Your stiffened grip on his shirt when he tries to put you on the bed is pathetically weak. He easily breaks it and leaves you.

Desperate for any heat, you curl into yourself. Your bones freeze as your skin burns. Breathing hurts, pressure building with each gasp. Your heart tries to escape your chest with each frantic pound. Your hand grasps at your neck where the pain radiates from.

The skin there turns slick. Changing hands, you bring it closer to your face. You open your eyes. Horror spikes through the pain when you find your blood covering your fingers.

It runs in rivulets down the lines of your palm to sluggishly drip on the blanket. You helplessly glance at your shoulder. More blood drains from your body. Your stomach revolts, but only dry heaves rattle your chest. No matter how hard you press, the blood flows until you’re lying in sticky sheets of crimson. Sobs escape your chapped lips, but you have no more tears. Only animal whimpers.

“Shhh. It's not real. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real.”

A hand pulls your shoulder so you roll over, your forehead meeting a cool wet cloth. Your gaze locks on the golden eyes above you. Rough sheets meet your exploring hands instead of blood. Relief and the returning cold sets every limb shivering.

“Keep fighting,” Yongguk murmurs, pulling the blankets back up around you and brushing back your hair away with his other hand. “If you can last the night, you’ll be safe.” “If-…I don’t?” When he doesn’t reply, you turn your head.

He watches. His hand leaves your hair to rest high on his thigh. You follow the movement with your eyes. Light glints off a silver knife tucked into his belt. Looking back into Yongguk’s eyes, something there chills you further. Beneath the care that guides the cloth dabbing at your face is a much harder resolution. If Yongguk suspects you are turning into one of those monsters, he won’t hesitate to kill you. You have no doubt of that. Even as fear washes over you, you can’t blame him. As scary as dying is, you’d rather be dead than one of them.

You close your eyes again. “Thank you.”

Yongguk grunts and wrings the cloth out into the bowl of water before replacing it on your forehead.

You try. You try with ever ounce of will you have left to do what Yongguk said. To fight. Every passing minute it gets harder. Each beat of your heart pulses pain through your nerves. The blankets are long cast on the floor by your flailing. Your pillow is wet from how many times you've bitten down on it to muffle screams. Every time you do, Yongguk gives your hand a squeeze. It keeps the feverish nightmares from consuming your mind whole. But you know a losing battle when you see one. Your already depleted energy is almost spent and what is left won't last much longer.

You're ready. There is nothing left for you anyway. You're sure of that. It won't be hard to leave the pain when there is nothing to gain from soldiering on.

With a ragged breath, you turn back towards Yongguk. “End it. Please.”

A knock on the door interrupts whatever answer he was going to give. Yongguk extracts his hand from your clasp to stand. “Youngjae? Is everyone back?”

A new voice comes through the door.“Yes. We're all fine. Daehyun said they found another were. Is it true?”

There's that word again. “Were.” The term's meaning escapes you. If only your brain wasn't so muddled so you could remember.

Yongguk lowers his voice as if to spare you the conversation, but with his hand gone, it's the anchor to reality that you cling to. “I'm not sure. She would have turned already if she was human, but she's not immune. The venom is killing her.”

A scream rips your throat to quickly for you to smother, punctuating Yongguk's words.

“I think you need to force her to shift,” Youngjae says after a few moments of ringing silence. “Her human body is too weak. My guess is she has enough were-blood to stop her from turning, but not enough to stop the venom from being fatal. If she's in were form, that should trigger her full immunity. Should.”

“How do I do that?”

Another scream muffles Youngjae's answer. Feverishly, you start wondering if you can grab Yongguk's knife when he returns to end things yourself. The pain is driving you over the brink of sanity.

You sense Yongguk move to sit by your bed again. “I'll try it. I'll come down at dawn one way or another. Go.”

He uses the cloth to wipe away blood from your split lip. You shift to look at him.

“What do you... need to do?” you ask.

“You're going to have to trust me.” He takes your hand again, pushing aside the tattered sleeve covering your arm. “It will hurt, but hopefully it will end quickly.”

Anything will be better than your current agony. “Just do it,” you rasp. You close your eyes and bite your pillow, bracing yourself.

Yongguk's other hand takes a firm grip on your elbow, raising your arm. There's a low, booming growl before sharp teeth sink into your forearm.

Shrieking, you jerk, but his hold is iron. You convulse as even greater pain sears your blood. Your bones creak and rip and melt. Mindless, you struggle to break free. You fight with all the desperate strength of a frantic animal willing to bite off its own foot to escape a trap. Finally, you flip yourself free from the bed with a roar. Your sight dims as your head smacks on the stone floor. You quickly scramble to your feet. All four of them.

Instead of hands, you see large sandy colored paws with unsheathed claws when you look down. Instead of a surprised yelp, a yowl comes when you open your mouth. A thousand smells bombard your nose so you fall into a fit of sneezing. Another hallucination has taken over.

Head shaking to dislodge the new horror, you skitter backwards in a panic. You step on something that sends a new sting of pain down your spine. You spin, knocking into the bed. It sends both of you sprawling.

“Stop!” A man slides in front of you, palms outstretched. His figure is hazy and dulled . “Look at me.”

His sudden strangeness terrifies you even more. He is a threat. Danger. Yowling, you jump away. Your claws catch on the overturned bed's sheets. They tangle and send you head over heels. As you tear and growl at the confining fabric, someone slams into you.

Flung on your back, you immediately surge upward. Solid paws push you back, claws pricking your fur in warning. Black hair whips your face. Your lips pull back in an angry snarl, but the beast above you gives a deafening roar that silences you. His golden eyes in his broad face stare down into yours. They demand nothing less than submission.

Stop! The deep voice rumbles through your mind, exuding dominance. Still!

His weight presses down on you so you have no other choice. Your breath comes in pants and soft moans. Confusion still jumbles your mind, but you instinctively know not to challenge the male pinning you. He is alpha. There's something familiar about the voice as well. You trust the voice.

Pain? Hurt?

In your terror, the pain had fled your mind. Now that you're motionless, it comes back. Yet it's muted, like a burn after you apply ice. Tentatively, you reach out to reply, Better. Real? Confused. Tired.

Explain later. Afraid?

No. The answer surprises you.

With a huff, the lion steps off your chest. You roll to your side, but he puts a paw on your side. He lies down behind you, his other paw hooking around you as well.

Sleep. Heal. I watch.

You glance over your shoulder, caught in his gaze again. Despite yourself, you believe him. Your earlier frenzy stole the little energy you had left. The ignorant innocence of exhausted sleep beckons. With no other prompting, you lay your head down on the stone and fall away from the world of delusions and events and words beyond your power to comprehend.

Next Chapter

Kingdom Map, The Keep Map, Weres scale, Were Guide

#yongguk #bap #bang yongguk #b.a.p #yongguk fanfic #bap fanfic #b.a.p fanfic #bap au #b.a.p au #yongguk scenarios #bap scenarios #b.a.p scenarios #himchan #daehyun #jongup #youngjae #zelo

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exosmuttytalk · 8 years ago

Text

Run Away - Chapter 15

Characters: OC/Oh Sehun/Exo

Genre: Romance, Angst, Fluff

Summary: An aspiring western model and a tired of stardom kpop star find their ways clashing in Seoul.

PART 1

PART 14

On Monday morning, just on time for her shift, but looking a lot more stressed out than usual, MinSeo stormed into the shop. She ran up to my spot and grabbing me by the elbow, she dragged me into the kitchen.

“Have you seen these?”

She pulled a couple magazines out of her bag and placed them on the counter top. Taking a look at the covers I immediately spotted pictures of Sehun wearing the same clothing he did on our trip, with a expression on his face that varied from surprised to annoyed from one photo to the other.

“He’s been all over social media too. People are wondering the reason behind your mysterious trip.” I stared at her blankly. “But don’t worry, because I haven’t found a single reference to you. At least, direct reference.”

She opened one of the magazines and searched through the pages until she found an specific article.

“But look at this.”

The first thing on sight was a photo of Sehun looking away from the camera, and right next to it, there was a close up of said picture focused on his neck. His very bruised neck. Bruised in a shape and placed in a way it was clear that wasn’t a bruise, but a hickey. The one I gave to him. The magazine had highlighted it enough, as the close up was surrounded by capitalized Korean words such as “scandalous” and pertinent emojis as a reaction to it.

I looked at MinSeo out of the corner of my eye.

“Do you know what the article says?” she asked.

“I can understand a few words…”

She turned to the next page.

“This is goes into scary details to talk about every single dating rumour that he’s had since debut era.”

“Are these girls he dated?” I asked, looking attentively at the pictures.

“I don’t know if he dated them or not, those are just rumours and you would have to ask yourself. But that’s not the point. They’re trying to find out who gave him the love bite.” She explained. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. We were at the beach and the town looked pretty calm. But the paparazzi appeared the next morning. I don’t know how they knew, but they did.”

“I don’t think they saw you, there would be pictures of you everywhere if that was the case…”

“Sehun was able to sneak me out of the hotel room without anyone seeing us, I hope.”

“You two were staying on the same room!?”

“Yeah…I mean, we’re kind of together. I think. I was the one to give him that hickey, not one of those girls…”

“No shit, Captain Obvious.”

Her snarky tone surprised me.

“Weren’t you the one who told me it would be okay if I wanted to kiss him in the first date and who went around making all types of dirty jokes?”

“Yes, but I never meant it! I thought you would be more discreet and that he would’ve known better than to let all of this out.”

“Could’ve been worse…” I whispered to myself.

“What was that? What do you mean?”

“Hmm…” I hesitated, but her raised eyebrow and her crossed arms over her chest reminded too much of how my mother looked when I had done something out of place. “We may had been swimming on the sea on Saturday evening.”

“So what?”

“Swimming in our underwear.”

She gasped loudly and covered her face with her hands. Then, she picked up the magazines and put them between my hands forcefully. She pushed me out of the kitchen, came back in and closed the door behind her. I could hear her grumbling the whole time.

**************

We fucked up

Yep

I’m sorry

It’s not your fault. At least not completely.

Can we meet?

I don’t think that’s the best idea right now

Please? I just want to talk

Hmm…Okay. Go to my apartment before 6 pm today and wait inside the building until I get there. I will call the doorman so he lets you in.

***************

Once my shift was over, I got inside the kitchen again to leave my apron. MinSeo signalled for me to wait until one of our co-workers, who was also looking for utensils inside, left.

“Are you seeing him now?” She asked, as she leaned back over the counter wiping her hands with a cloth.

I nodded as a response.

“Listen, Grace. I’m sorry if I was too harsh on you before. I just want you to be okay, both of you, but firstly you, because you’re my friend. Up until now everything has been okay with you two so you’re starting to be careless.” She sighed and I said nothing to cover up for her silence. “I don’t really have any advice to give you. I don’t know what I’d do if I were you. Just promise you’ll try to be careful.”

“I will.” I came close to her and hugged her tightly. “And you don’t need to apologize for anything. Friends should be there to smack sense into their friends heads when they need it, right?”

**********

It was 6:45 pm and I had already been waiting for an hour. After inspecting every corner of the building I was able to and looking through every single entertainment website I knew of in my phone, I went up to the apartment’s floor and sat down in the corridor, in front of his door. I took out the magazines from my bag and flicked through quickly through the pages until I got to the only articles I actually cared about. From what I was able to make out of the text, all the girls suspected to be “his new fling” were also kpop starts and celebrities.

“You know there’s a couple armchairs in the ground floor?” Sehun’s voice startled me, I hadn’t heard him coming. “There’s no need for you to be sitting there.”

I shrugged it off.

“I was there for a while, but got bored after the first twenty minutes.”

He extended his arm towards me and I took his hand to help myself get up from the floor.

“I’m sorry, we had a meeting today and it took longer than I expected.” He tried to take a look at the magazines over my shoulder. “What are you reading?”

“Oh, nothing. Just a dumb magazine. Picking up vocabulary, you know…” He nodded and looked at me in silence. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Yes, sure.” He quickly opened the door and led me in. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“No, I’m fine like this.”

We sat in the sofa, but the atmosphere wasn’t as comfortable as any of the other times we had been alone.

“You said you wanted to talk…?”

“What is going to happen?” I mumbled.

“About what?”

“Sehun, please. Don’t play dumb. Even MinSeo has been freaking out and she’s not even directly involved. What are we going to do?”

“I don’t think there’s a lot we can do. Just try to be as discreet as possible and let time go by so this all settles.”

His apparent tranquillity contrasted starkly with the mood I was in since MinSeo told me off that morning.

“What are we?”

“We? We are…friends?” He decided to change his wording when he saw the expression in my face. “Good friends?”

“I don’t think good friends act like couples. Or go on unplanned trips together. Or do what we did the other day.”

“It was you the one who started it.” Once again, my face did the talking. “What do you want me to answer, Grace? You know how things are, I’ve told you about it!”

“I just want you to tell me the truth. To finally set things down. You can lie about this to anyone you want, but do you have to lie to me too?”

He combed his hair back with his hands and sunk back into the sofa.

“I can’t.”

I got the magazine out of my bag and opened it in the pertinent page.

“Who are these?” I asked as I placed the magazine in top of the table.

“They’re friends,” he answered after taking a quick look through the pages.

“Friends just like I am?”

Sehun looked at me with wide open eyes, without knowing what to answer.

“Here it says that the one you’ve been more recently linked to is Irene and that she’s probably the one to blame for the state of your neck.”

“Your Korean has really advanced…” He tried to joke but I was having none of it.

“That’s not the point right now. Why is it ok that these girls are linked to you but not me? Is it because they’re all beautiful and famous and I’m not? Is it a "good” kind of publicity?“

"I got told off for that stuff!” His tone led me to believe he was getting mad. “Wait. Are you jealous?”

If stares worked as weapons, he would probably have been dead by that time.

“Do you still see them?”

“What? Yes, you are jealous!”

“Sehun, can you answer the question already? It’s not that hard!”

“I just see them if we happen to meet at an event, program or something like that. But why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you jealous?”

“I’m not jealous, oh my god!”

I stood up quickly and walked up to the window. I could feel his eyes fixed on my back and I was glad he wasn’t able to see the blush that had crept to my face.

“I came here trying to be reasonable. I just don’t know what to do. I’m sick of hiding.”

“Neither do I,” he whispered.

We stayed in that position for some good ten minutes, in complete silence and lost in our own thoughts. Then, he stood up as well and approached me from behind, to circle my waist with his arms and rest his chin on top of my head.

“Jongdae was once seeing this girl. He had known her for quite a long time, because she was working for the company. I think she was some kind of assistant, but I don’t really remember. He actually had high hopes for the relationship, but somehow, people found out. Long story short, they lost their relationship and she also lost her job.”

“That’s unfortunate and I’m sorry for both,” I said as I leaned back into his body. “But it doesn’t need to be the case with us.”

“I’ve always thought it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

I turned around to look at him.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I think we should stop seeing each other. Until the promotion is over, at least.” He was looking at the floor as the words came out of his mouth.

“Are you breaking up with me?”

“In order to break up, there has to be something to start with,” he had a bitter half smile on his face. “But no, I am not. I intend to keep in touch with you. I just think we should stop for a while until the hardest part of the promotion is over and the press has more relevant things to focus on. That’s all.”

“I see. Then there’s not much else I can do here, right?” I stepped back, grabbed my things from where I’d left them and fished something out of my bag. “Take this. I thought you may not have concealer here. Maybe it fits your tone and you can use it to cover up the marks in your neck.” I tiptoed to kiss him on the cheek. “Bye, Sehun. Call me when you have the chance.”

My manager just drove past the café and I saw you through the windows.

Did you?

Yes. You were cleaning a table.

I see…

I never told you, but you look good in that short skirt

Ugh…

You were on the TV this afternoon

That’s not super unusual

You were performing one of the songs I watched when I went to the rehearsal

That’s what we were there for. Did you like it?

Yeah, it felt more complete, with the outfits and stuff. I liked the makeup, it looked like you had got you ass beaten.

I don’t know what to think about that.

It looked hot, just thank me for the compliment and roll with it

I just remembered something.

What thing?

Did your grandparents find out about our photoshoot?

I don’t think so, thank God. If they did, they haven’t told me and I’d rather stay in ignorance.

Why?

Yeah, why. I guess as you’re used to doing all those hip thrusts on national TV you have no shame anymore, right?

You’re strangely apprehensive about your own body to want to be a model so hard…

I’m not the same person in front of a camera and behind. Maybe you should try to find your own persona when you’re not working as well.

I’m sorry

What for?

I was unnecessarily cold to you the other day. I don’t know how to handle us.

I’m sorry too.

Why would you be?

I was actually jealous and didn’t want to admit it. I’ve never even been “out there” but I already feel like I’m being scrutinized and compared to people that are better than me.

They’re not better than you.

I miss you

…?

I just miss you. Miss your smiling face and your corny jokes and dropping by the café just to see you.

I don’t know what to say.

Don’t you miss me too?

I see you almost every day on TV and MinSeo keeps me updated in what’s going on, so I know about you.

Yeah…

Also, I don’t know how much of “a thing” we actually are. I’m not sure of what I’m allowed to feel.

I’m sorry about that.

Have you been sleeping and eating well lately?

Yeah, just like every day. Why?

Nothing. Just checking

I never got to find out if you were going to bring me a sweet or savoury breakfast

Yes. Not that it matters, but I was curious.

I was going to pick a bit of everything, to be honest. And a chocolate milkshake for me. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as good as the ones you make, so that wasn’t much of a loss.

Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Oh.

Do you like kids?

When they’re full and tender, very tasty.

And when they’re alive and not available to eat?

Oh. They’re okay.

Okay? Wouldn’t you like to have them someday?

I would, but it’s not something I think about right now. I can barely support myself.

I would like to have a couple, maybe…

I’m so sick of this.

Yeah, me too.

What are you talking about?

I’m doing the washing up and this is the third time I drop a spoon. It’s getting annoying. What are *you* talking about?

The promotion. Twice a year or even more often. The same things done in the same places. The same people asking the same questions and getting the same answers.

Sounds kind of boring.

The only things that change are the songs and the choreographies. But I’m lucky to have my friends with me…

Chanyeol asked me about you today.

Yeah? What did he say?

Just wondering how you are and why I don’t mention you as much as I did before.

You used to talk about me?

Yeah.

And now you don’t anymore?

I try to avoid it.

Why?

I don’t know what would happen if one of my managers heard me talking about you in that way.

In which way?

In the way that you’re mine. And I’m yours. But also theirs.

You confuse me so much.

What is your favourite colour?

I don’t want to be discriminatory against poor little colours. They’re all colourful and deserve the same amount of attention.

That was the most useful question I could’ve asked.

When are you officially done with the promotion?

Just one more week. Why?

You always complain so much. I was just curious to know when the suffering ends.

I see. I actually wanted to tell you about it.

How’s that?

When the promotion ends the company usually arranges some big party in a disco. They invite other famous people they’re interested in keeping relationships with, possible investors, press, etc. But we all that’s over, we organize another party in the house we used to share in the beginning. It’s more private and we get to invite whoever we want. Usually that’s close friends, siblings, etc. We stay there for as long as we want, watch films, order food, play games, sing karaoke and all that stuff people do at parties. Would you like to come?

That actually sounds good. But I don’t really know if I should.

Why?

I don’t know what’s up with us. Would I be attending as a close friend? Because I’m pretty sure I’m not your sister…

Maybe we should talk about that some other time…

Sure

I wasn’t expecting this.

What thing?

The flowers you sent to my place of work.

Did your boss get mad?

No, he was actually gushing all over me trying to find out something about the “secret admirer”.

Did you like them?

Everybody likes flowers.

Unless they’re allergic.

But I’m not. Is this what you wanted to know my favourite colour for?

Maybe…

Why white?

I like white and you were wearing white when we first met. It was your uniform, but I think you look beautiful in white.

I see… These are outrageous, I can barely fit the whole bucket on the biggest cup I have at home.

I think you’d be better using a vase.

That’s too fancy for me.

I’ll get you one. Did you read the letter?

Yes.

What do you think about it?

It seems you can handle better the written words than an actual conversation.

…

I liked it and I appreciate the gesture. But I also think those are things you’d be better off saying them out loud when you’re physically next to me.

Of course, three days later, when MinSeo dropped me at my apartment building, he was the last person I had imagined I’d see sitting by the door. He got up quickly to dust off the back of his trousers and then bent down again to grab a package from the floor.

“I thought you were still in promotion time.”

“I am,” he answered. “But I needed to see you.”

I nodded and pushed him inside the apartment; there was no point in talking about this in the middle of the street.

“I brought you this,” he said handing me the package.

I teared the wrapping and opened the box to find a nice blue crystal vase.

“I thought blue would look pretty with the white flowers, if you’ve managed to keep them alive for these three days.”

“I really like it, thank you.”

I walked to the kitchen to fill it with water and started arranging the flowers inside it. Meanwhile, Sehun followed me over the whole apartment without saying another word.

“Didn’t you have some program to film today?”

“We were at the radio today. But it’s 8 pm, we also need to sleep…”

“I see…” I turned around to face him and leaned back over the counter top. “So, what brought you here?”

“I told you, I needed to see you.”

“What for?”

“You wanted me to say what I wrote out loud.”

“That’d be nice, yeah…”

My arms were crossed over my chest in what I thought that looked like a defensive gesture, but it didn’t work with him, as he approached me, put both his arms over my shoulders and started drawing patterns down my bare arms with his long fingers. He cleared his throat.

“Grace, I’m sorry for everything that happened the other day. I could blame it all on my job, but that wouldn’t be completely true. While my job doesn’t give us any room to grow, the truth is it was mostly my fault. This is the first time I ever feel this way in my whole life. I’m 22, but that doesn’t make me anymore experienced in this topic than if I were 15. I still don’t know how to handle this, but I’ve had my time to think and now I know I’m afraid. I scared of what may happen if the company finds out, if you become a public personality because of your relationship with me. I’m scared of other people’s reaction. I’m also scared of what may happen if either of us wants more space while the other is still attached. I’m wary of changes and believe or not, you’ve been the biggest change that’s happened to me in the last two years.

But I’ve also come to the knowledge that I need you around. I love your eyes and the sound of your laughter. I like your shiny hair and the way you’re sometimes so soft-spoken. You don’t couldn’t care less about the character I play towards the public, but at the same time, you manage to be encouraging. I still don’t know you completely and you don’t know me either, but I feel that’s already enough.

The time we spent at the beach was the most relaxed I’ve felt in months. You make me feel giddy and at ease with myself. I look forward to the time I can drop by the café to see your beautiful face, or that when we can meet again, or when I grab my phone to find a message of yours. I apologize again and ask you not to take those privileges from me.

I love you very much. Saranghaeyo. I’d love to be able to express in more languages what I feel about you, but to be honest, those are the only two I can speak.”

His eyes, which had been fixed on the piece of floor between our feet, travelled up to scan my face.

“I can believe you memorized the whole letter.”

He sighed.

“I needed to write it many times before the words were the appropriate, it wasn’t that hard to learn.” I nodded and he grabbed my hands. “To be honest, your reaction to the flowers wasn’t what I was expecting. I’m not sure what I wanted though, but I guess you’re hard to impress. Also, what you said had me thinking and I wanted to do things the right way.”

“I really liked the flowers.”

He smiled widely at that before speaking again.

“I’m very sorry that I have to keep you hidden as if you were an embarrassing secret. I know it’s not fair.”

“You don’t need to apologize anymore,” I answered shaking my head. “I know it’s hard for you and I will try to be more understanding from now on. Just promise me you won’t do it again. Don’t raise up all my hopes to suddenly take them all away. I trust you. Try to trust me as well.”

“I will.”

I stepped closer to him to press myself against his chest as I circled his waist with my arms, trying to make contact with as much of his skin as it was possible.

“I love you too.”

PART 1

PART 14

PART 16

MASTERLIST!?

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flowerfan2 · 8 years ago

Text

Winds of Change - Ch. 14/15

Stucky, 46k total, A03. Post CACW. This fic is fully written; the final chapter will post on 2/24. Read from the beginning here.

Bucky’s still got some healing to do after the doctors in Wakanda rouse him from sleep and make sure there are no more deadly triggers lurking in his brain. He decides it should happen where he can have some peace and quiet, as well as a little distance from Steve’s overwhelming presence. When he sees an ad for a “Winter Caretaker” he takes the job, but it turns out to be not so peaceful after all.

Or, how Bucky realized that while he still needs to heal, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for him and Steve to do it together.

Chapter 14

Steve, Natasha and Bucky are already sitting around the conference table at the safe house, setting up the Skype call, when the rest of the team arrives.

Tony runs down the stairs first, of course, and tosses another black duffel bag at Bucky. “I gave you a few options – check ‘em out. Bullets aren’t going through any of them.”

Bruce and Clint follow him at a more civilized pace, although Bruce looks vaguely nervous at almost being late for the call. Then again, Bucky realizes, Bruce often looks nervous.

Coulson goes over what they know – the general layout of the building, who they’ve seen going in and out over the past few days, intercepted communications. And then what they don’t know, which sends a spark of discomfort through Bucky’s stomach.

“We still can’t come up with a quicker antidote for the poison,” Coulson says.

“Not for lack of trying,” Tony contributes.

“That the reason for those lovely bags under your eyes?” Natasha asks, and receives a swat from Tony in return.

“It’s not Tony’s fault,” Bruce says. “We didn’t get enough information from what was in Steve’s blood. By the time we could examine it, it had been affected by the universal antidote, and the serum, too. So if anyone gets hit, they have to be treated immediately.”

“Especially if it’s someone other than Captain Rogers or the Sergeant,” says Coulson.

“I don’t like this,” says Steve. “Let me and Bucky go check it out. There’s no need for everyone to be put at risk.”

“Aw come on, Steve,” Clint says. “Let the rest of us have some fun. You can’t do everything yourself.”

“Clint’s right,” says Coulson. “But we want you all to be as prepared as possible. I want to go over the layout again, and run through scenarios for each possible location of the lab.”

Bucky tries his best to stay focused on the conversation, but he can’t help but think that things would go faster if Coulson just told them what to do, instead of letting everyone voice an opinion and then argue about it. He starts to see a pattern after a while, though, shedding a little light on the beauty of Coulson’s approach: Tony and Natasha throw out aggressive ideas, Bruce pulls them back, Clint offers something in the middle ground, and then Steve sweeps in with the obvious-as-soon-as-he-says-it brilliant solution to each problem, and Coulson solemnly agrees with his plan.

Seems that the Captain hasn’t lost his strategic vision, even here in the future, melancholy as he may be in his personal life. Steve’s still a military genius, as far as Bucky is concerned, and once he sees how it goes, he just sits back and enjoys the show.

After one particularly heated exchange between Natasha, Clint and Tony, when Steve mediates and then tosses down the perfect compromise, Bucky kicks Steve’s foot under the table. Steve’s eyes flicker to him and Bucky grins, almost laughing when Steve’s poker face threatens to dissolve. But Steve holds it together, Bucky agrees solemnly to this last proposal, and on they go.

The conversation is clearly almost over, Coulson and Bruce talking between themselves about the delivery method of the antidote, when Tony comes over to Bucky and gives his arm a shove. “Look what I brought,” Tony says, digging something out of his pocket.

Tony holds up a flashcard with a Russian word on it, and Bucky closes his eyes so fast he almost sees stars. He stumbles his way away from the table and up the stairs, his heart beating a mile a minute, not even staying to explain himself.

The house seems too close for him to breathe, and he rushes outside, fast walking down the drive and willing his heart to slow down.

“Bucky?”

It’s Steve, looking concerned as always. He’s got his leather jacket on, and he throws Bucky’s coat at him.

“Go back inside, I’m fine.” But he puts the coat on. It’s really cold out.

“Then why’d you run away?” Steve falls into place next to him, matching his stride to Bucky’s. They’d had to readjust, during the war, Bucky used to slowing his pace so Steve’s shorter legs could keep up; Captain America didn’t need to rush to keep up with anyone. “You can tell me, you know. Whatever it is.”

“I’m sorry, don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

Steve doesn’t bother to argue, just continues to walk alongside him. The temperature is hovering just below freezing, and it’s windy too; Bucky can tell Steve won’t be the first to complain, though, not while he’s in Bucky caretaking mode.

Bucky starts to feel his metal arm stiffen with the cold, and it’s just another reminder of his weaknesses.

“I don’t belong on this team,” he declares, not looking at Steve. “What if more of those goons know about the Red Room prompts, and I panic? What good will I be to you then?”

“Pretty sure you’ve already explained to me how you’re the best sniper anyone could hope to have watching their back.”

“Yeah, well, Clint’s good too. And he’s not going to freak out when someone starts speaking in tongues.”

Steve laughs. “Have you met Clint? I wouldn’t bet on it. But Bucky, really, there’s no one like you. You know that, right? And at the moment, I’m not talking about your handsome good looks.”

Bucky glances at Steve, his eyes shining with sincerity. His heart skipped a beat at Steve’s word (he called me handsome!) but he’s not letting himself be distracted.

“Everyone knows I’m a risk. I shouldn’t go with you.”

Steve practically rolls his eyes. “Now who’s being dramatic.”

“What?” Bucky starts, turning to glare at Steve, who is looking back at him mildly. “I’m not dramatic… I’m… I’m…”

“Go on. I’m waiting,” Steve says. “And it’s not getting any warmer out here.”

Bucky wants to punch him. “I’m broken. I’m flawed. I’m not goddamned dramatic.” He storms off towards the house, Steve’s laughter following him, before he realizes how he’s just weakened his case significantly.

“Bucky,” Steve says, jogging up to him and grabbing him by the arm. “Bucky, hey. We’re all flawed. All of us. And we look out for each other. That’s why we work so well together.”

Bucky just stands there, head down, as Steve pulls his head against his shoulder.

“There’s no one I trust more than you. No one I’d rather have at my back. I know you’re scared, but you can do it. I know it.”

Bucky is scared. He’s scared of failing Steve, of failing himself. But it’s impossible to resist Steve when he uses his Captain America voice, especially when it’s combined with the way Steve’s practically giving him a full body hug and staring into his eyes with that patented earnest expression.

“You really think I can handle it?” Bucky whispers.

“I know it’s not what I was saying a few days ago,” Steve says. “But I’ve seen you in action again, Bucky. The way you move… you’re amazing. You were invaluable taking out the turbines. We’d never have gotten out of there without injuries if you weren’t with us. You can handle this, and I want you out there with me.” Steve shivers, and kisses Bucky on the head. “Now can we go inside? They’ve got this thing called heat, here in the future. It’s pretty awesome.”

**********

For all the lead-up and stress, they take the base on the mainland so easily that Bucky almost feels disappointed. They have to hold position for several hours before heading in, which is tiresome, but when they finally get inside the lab is right in the most obvious location, the staff obediently throw themselves to the floor and don’t seem willing or able to use their poison teeth, and no one on the team so much as pulls a muscle.

When they get to the helicopters for the trip back to the island, the pilot insists that Steve sit up front with him – apparently he was too shy to say it on the way over, but his great-uncle served in World War II and the star-struck pilot wants to talk to Steve about it.

Steve flashes a disappointed look towards Bucky, but Bucky knows this kind of adoration is par for the course with Steve. Bucky’s just glad he doesn’t have any fanboys tugging at his sleeve, because as soon as he sits down in the back of the ‘copter, the adrenaline drains out of his system and he lets himself relax. Just because the operation was simple doesn’t mean he isn’t glad for a few moments of quiet. Natasha’s in the seat next to him, pulling her red hair out of its ponytail, and she flashes him a smile. “Good work, Barnes.”

There were no Red Room words this time, no panicked moments, just precise teamwork and a successful mission. Bucky could get used to this.

The sound of the engine and the close comfort of the dark cabin have just about lulled him to sleep when he feels the helicopter start to descend, and before he knows it, they’ve landed. Tony, Bruce and Clint are climbing out of the other helicopter, and they look about as interested in having a call with Coulson as Bucky feels.

Only Steve is peppy, smirking and swinging his arm around Bucky’s shoulders as they walk back to the house.

“You’re not even human,” Clint mutters in Steve’s general direction as they all traipse down into the basement, awaiting Coulson’s call.

“Now, that’s not nice,” Steve says, giving Clint a playful shove that almost knocks him over. Everyone’s shedding their gear, and Bucky notices Tony giving him a sideways look as Bucky takes off the new vest Tony made for him. It has added protection around the chest and shoulder, and uses some kind of flexible material at the shoulders and neck that is more comfortable than his old gear, yet still has much the same look. Tony also made him a long sleeved version, but Bucky couldn’t resist wearing this one, which still shows off his metal arm.

“This is perfect, Tony,” Bucky says. “Great range of motion, too. Thanks.”

Tony nods, and for once, actually seems to be trying to hide his smile. “You’re welcome.” He grabs two six-packs of beer from the refrigerator and starts handing them out, and Bucky takes one and drinks it down quickly, earning an interested look from Steve.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Coulson greets them and they start the debrief, but Bucky isn’t paying much attention. Instead he takes another beer bottle and fixes his lips around the top, stretching his neck out as he takes a few more gulps, then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Steve is having trouble keeping his eyes on the screen – he’s too busy watching Bucky.

It makes Bucky’s internal horny teenager light up like a firecracker.

The debrief is thankfully short, given the ease of the entire operation, and Coulson soon signs off. Tony has just started to explain what he has in mind for the rest of the night but he doesn’t get any further than “strip poker, but with-” before Steve is on his feet and dragging Bucky upstairs and out the door.

“In a rush, pal?” Bucky asks, bemused, as they get into the truck.

“Wanna get you home,” Steve says, revving the truck’s engine. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not nice to tease?”

“Hmm,” Bucky says, trailing a metal finger down Steve’s thigh, “seems to me you’re enjoying it well enough.”

Steve snorts and fixes his eyes on the road. They might be driving just a tad over the speed limit, but it’s the middle of the night, and Bucky’s not about to object.

They’ve barely made it inside the house when Steve grabs Bucky and pushes him up against the door, crowding into him as he presses their lips together in a fervent kiss. Bucky kisses back hard, grabbing the back of Steve’s head and holding him tight. Steve’s got his whole body up against Bucky, their hips slotting together, not letting up even for a moment. It’s thrilling, and hot, but Bucky isn’t about to come in his pants. He doesn’t want things to be over quite so soon, so he pulls back, a hand on Steve’s cheek to slow him as Steve presses forward again.

“Hey gorgeous, what do you say we take this upstairs? Get comfortable?”

Steve blinks at him, then smiles a goofy little smile at the term of endearment. “Okay,” he says, and drags Bucky by his metal hand, practically racing up the stairs. When they get to Bucky’s room Steve turns to him and slides his hands under Bucky’s jacket, pushing it off his shoulders, and then whips off his shirt.

Bucky’s breathless, and it’s not from running up the stairs. He leans his head back as Steve starts sucking wet kisses under his chin and along his collarbone. Bucky ducks in for a turn, nibbling at Steve’s ear and then kissing down his neck, sucking hard at a spot while pressing his hips into Steve, which Steve acknowledges with a groan and a soft “ugh, yes.” After paying careful attention to all the skin he can get to, Bucky grabs at Steve’s clothes and tugs, and Steve gets the message and steps back, taking off his leather jacket and t-shirt, then dropping to his knees and undoing Bucky’s pants.

Bucky staggers back a step, but Steve grabs his waist, shoving his pants and briefs down to his knees. Bucky’s mind is spinning, but he gathers the presence of mind to speak up, filing it away in the better late than never category. “Steve, um, wait?”

Steve looks up at him, cheek practically leaning against his cock, and it’s ridiculously hard to form words.

“You might want to, I mean, um,… condom?”

Steve seems perplexed. “You sent me your medical file. You’re clean. And the serum should take care of it for both of us, anyway.” Steve pauses, then gets a disturbingly concerned look on his face for someone currently nosing into his groin. “Unless you’d feel more comfortable? I haven’t been tested in a while, but the tests always come out clean, and it’s not like I’ve been with anyone…”

Shit, this really isn’t a conversation to have with one’s pants already down. “Steve, I don’t even know who I was with, before I got free.”

“You think I care about that?” Steve sits back on his heels. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Buck. I don’t care who you were with, then. Hell, I don’t even care who you were with since then-”

“No one,” Bucky mutters.

“-as long as you want to be with me now.” Steve cracks a smirk, and nudges his chin against Bucky’s still hard cock. “And I think you do. So what do you say, can I suck your dick? Please?”

Bucky looks down at Steve, his persuasive puppy dog eyes just inches from his cock, Steve’s hands holding his hips, one thumb caressing him almost unconsciously as he waits for Bucky’s answer, and relents. “Sure, since you asked so nicely.”

Then Steve’s mouth is on him, enveloping him in wet heat. It doesn’t take long to bring Bucky close, and he bites his lip as he strangles a moan in his throat. Steve pops off and looks up at him, lips red and swollen already.

“You like this?” Steve asks, and all Bucky can do is nod. “There’s no one to hear you, you know. Except me. So go ahead. Let me hear you.”

Steve returns to his task, one hand on Bucky’s ass and the other moving on Bucky’s cock where his mouth doesn’t take it all in, and this time Bucky doesn’t censor himself.

“Feels good,” Bucky says, the words spilling out of him. “Steve, yeah, please, fuck, so good.”

“Yeah?” Steve’s looking up at him again, but the hand on his cock keeps moving, and it’s all Bucky can do to keep standing up.

“Yeah.” He gasps in a breath. “You’ll see when you give me a turn to show you.”

Steve’s already flushed, but Bucky can see Steve’s eyes darken with lust at the thought. “Which do you … do you want…?”

“So polite,” Bucky says, smirking. He’s not exactly sure what question Steve is asking, but it’s long past time to get them both more naked. He grabs Steve by the shoulder and pulls him over towards the bed. “Come on.” Bucky pulls his clothes the rest of the way off, nearly tripping as he gets his pants over his feet, and climbs up on the bed. Steve quickly does the same.

Steve knee walks over to Bucky, and the sight of him is overwhelming. He looks like a dream. Bucky can’t help drawing a finger over his round pecs and his rippling abs, then settling his hand on his hip.

But Steve isn’t in the mood for contemplation tonight, and he practically dives for Bucky’s lips again, unrelenting. This time when they touch there’s nothing between them, and Bucky can feel Steve hard and leaking against his thigh. Bucky reaches down and finds Steve’s cock, and Steve shivers as Bucky starts to stroke him, kissing him hard and then leaning his forehead against Bucky’s chest.

“Bucky, oh, please, Bucky…”

“Please what?” Bucky teases, as Steve’s hips jerk towards him.

Steve makes a breathy noise against Bucky’s skin. “I dunno, just… keep doing this. Forever, okay?”

Bucky laughs, slowing the motion of his hand and threading his metal fingers through Steve’s hair. “As many times as you want.” He kisses down Steve’s chest, pushing him to lie down on his back, and tugs at a nipple with his teeth until Steve starts to moan. Then he licks a path all the way down his body until he’s face to face with Steve’s cock. He gives it an experimental swipe with his tongue. Steve’s choked gasp is all the encouragement he needs.

“Holy shit,” Steve says, as Bucky takes him in his mouth. “Oh fuck, fuck, that’s so good.”

So much for Captain America not swearing, Bucky thinks. He twirls his tongue around the tip, catching his breath, and then sucks him down again. Steve gets a hand in Bucky’s hair, and Bucky pops off to look up at him. “Go ahead,” he says, his voice rough from his ministrations. “Pull if you want.”

He smirks at the lust blown look on Steve’s face, and then gets back to business. Steve does as suggested, and Bucky has to concentrate to keep going as Steve tugs and then pushes him down until he’s practically gagging on him.

He pulls off, gasping for air, and then climbs up to Steve’s mouth, taking him roughly in his arms.

“Love you so much, Steve,” he pants, as they press together. “So beautiful. You’re so beautiful.”

Steve flips them over and then grinds down into Bucky, his hands running up and down over his sides, his chest, setting his skin aflame. “Love you too. Always.”

Bucky gets a hand between them, and it’s not long before Steve comes with a long moan that pushes Bucky over the edge moments afterwards.

They lie there for a few minutes, Steve’s heavy body a welcome weight on Bucky’s chest as his head slowly stops spinning, until Steve finally rolls off him with a long exhale.

Bucky pushes himself up on an elbow and looks Steve over, his lips puffy and red, teeth marks on his chest, hickeys that will fade by morning scattered all over his skin. He knows he’s in similar shape.

“So, not that I’m complaining,” Bucky asks, “but what brought that on?”

Steve turns over and hides his face in the pillow, but this isn’t really a hardship for Bucky, as he just proceeds to give Steve’s lovely ass a squeeze.

“Come on, tell me,” Bucky says. He thinks back to the operation at the lab, the look Steve gave him as they left, just before the pilot in the helicopter latched on to Steve for the ride home.

“It was the mission, wasn’t it?” Bucky drapes himself over Steve’s back and noses into the spot where his neck meets his shoulder. “Does watching me shoot people get you hot?”

There’s no answer, but Bucky knows Steve – he’s probably feeling badly about it.

“I love watching you fight, too,” Bucky says, stroking Steve’s back. “It’s elegant. No wasted motion.” He leans closer, mouth next to Steve’s ear. “Not to mention those arm muscles. Damn. I’d watch you throw that shield all night.”

Steve huffs and turns over, taking Bucky into his arms. He’s gentle now, less urgent than before, but just as sincere. “We’re kinda weird, aren’t we?”

Bucky shrugs, and nestles against Steve’s chest. “Maybe. But I like it.”

Steve presses a kiss to Bucky’s hair. “Thank god, Buck, that we made it here. ‘Cause I really like it too.”

#stucky #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes #steve rogers #marvel fic #stucky fic #captain america #my fic

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